Amber Alert canceled for missing Waxahachie 12-year-old

WAXAHACHIE – The Waxahachie Police Department has canceled its Amber Alert for 12-year-old Tanya Jackson.

Jackson was located this past Friday after an anonymous tip led police to a hotel room in south Dallas.

A media release from the Waxahachie PD on Friday, stated, “Out of respect for the child and her family, we will not be discussing any further details.”

Police originally reported they were seeking information concerning the runaway juvenile who left her residence sometime in the early morning hours of Feb. 14.

A police press release on Feb. 16 stated, “At this time, Tanya Jackson has not been located. Despite working diligently throughout the night, our investigators at the Waxahachie Police Department and the Homeland Security Investigations North Texas Trafficking Task Force have investigated and ruled out all viable leads on where she might be. 

“Our department along with other departments across North Texas have dedicated valuable resources and personnel to this effort, but we do not have enough information at this time to sustain the dedicated, large-scale search for Tanya.”

On Friday afternoon, officials with Waxahachie police and Homeland Security Investigations said she had been located.

“We got her, we found Tanya,” said Mary Magness, deputy special agent in charge of HSI Dallas. “She’s safe.”

According to John Perez, the supervisory special agent of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force, Jackson was found in the South Dallas hotel room alone. When officers knocked on the hotel room door, Perez said she cooperated with law enforcement.

No arrests have been made in connection to Jackson’s being located, and the case is still under investigation.

Authorities involved in the case did not say if they are investigating the Amber Alert as a runaway case or child trafficking case.

Jackson was the subject of another Amber Alert in July, 2023.