BRETT ALEXANDER SMITH - 12 yo - Richland County SC

Richland County deputies are searching for Brett Alexander Smith, a 12-year-old boy who has been reported missing.
Officers say Smith was last seen at his home Monday afternoon at 1
p.m. Smith lives at a house on Big Leaf Circle in the Magnolia Hall
Neighborhood.
According to investigators, the boy left home on his bicycle. That
bike was recovered around 8 p.m. Monday at the McDonald's on
Hardscrabble Road.
Investigators have not released if they believe he is in imminent danger.


Smith is a white male, with brown hair, blue eyes, and is 5'5", 140 pounds.
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, or e-mail a tip in to Crimestoppers of the Midlands.
You can also text information in by texting "TIPSC" plus your message
to CRIMES (274637). Either way you choose, your identity will remain
anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.

It's been three days since a Richland County 12-year-old went missing, but no AMBER Alert has been issued in the case.

All deputies have found is Brett Smith's bicycle.

Initially,
deputies thought he left to go visit biological family in Aiken County.
But officers and family there say they haven't seen him.

"The
concern has heightened because we located the bike and we haven't been
able to locate him and because we believe that he initially left his
home to go visit those extended family members because he has not
turned up there" said Richland County Sheriff's Department spokesperson
Monique Mack. "Of course we are concerned."
Deputies say they have not issued an AMBER Alert because the
criteria to issue one have not been met. According to the U.S.
Department of Justice, the criteria for an alert are as follows:

• Law enforcement must confirm that an abduction has taken place
  
• The child is at risk of serious injury or death
  
• There is sufficient descriptive information of child, captor, or captor's vehicle to issue an alert
  
• The child must be 17 years old or younger.
  

But deputies say they are searching for Smith with the same amount of intensity as if one had been issued.

"We're
talking to neighbors, family members, school officials, his friends, so
we're looking for him with the same intensity and passion we would if
an AMBER Alert had been issued," said Mack.
Brett Smith was last seen at the McDonalds on Hard Scrabble Road on January 18.

If you saw him or know anything, you're asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

Brett Smith, a boy who was reported missing earlier this week in Richland County, has been found safe, law enforcement confirms.
Smith, 12, was discovered Friday walking along a road in Aiken
County. Investigators had earlier said that it was possible that he
could be there, because he has family in Aiken County.
Investigators say the boy was unharmed. Further details on the
discovery, including what he has been doing during the time he was
unaccounted for, were not immediately available.
Smith was last seen Monday afternoon in the Magnolia Hall neighborhood in Northeast Richland County.
Smith is a foster child.
Deputies were concerned because they found Smith's bicycle at the
McDonald's on Hard Scrabble Road in Richland County at about 8 p.m.
Monday night.
An Amber Alert was not issued because details of the case didn't meet certain criteria.