Fresno police search for missing 14-year-old Brooke Horton

Fresno police are asking for help finding 14-year-old Brooke Horton, who was last seen around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, near West Sussex Way and West Ashlan Avenue in west Fresno. Horton is about 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs about 120 pounds, has long straight brown hair, brown eyes and a nose piercing. Anyone with information can call Fresno police at 559-621-7000, the California Department of Justice missing-person hotline at 1-800-222-FIND, or Valley Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.

The area around West Sussex Way and West Ashlan Avenue is a busy part of west Fresno, with nearby homes, apartment complexes and steady commercial traffic. That mix gives investigators more possible witnesses, but it also gives a missing teen more places to move unnoticed. Police are asking people to look closely at the clothing Horton was wearing, a black hoodie, a black tank top and red sweatpants, and to think back to any sighting of a girl matching that description after she was last seen.

Police most need any details about where Horton was after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, whether she was walking alone or with someone else, and whether anyone saw her enter a vehicle. Even small details, such as a direction of travel, a business she may have passed, or the make and color of a car, can help narrow the search.

The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office says missing-person reports should be made to the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the person was last seen, and it asks that investigators be kept updated on any leads. In the city of Fresno, the office directs callers to 559-621-7000.

The California Department of Justice maintains a statewide missing-persons system and publishes quarterly and annual reports, underscoring how these cases are tracked across California. Valley Crime Stoppers says anonymous tips can be submitted and may qualify for a cash reward if they help lead to an arrest. For Horton’s family and for officers searching west Fresno, the quickest route forward is a public response built on the specific details already released.