AMBER Alert Update: Stepfather arrested after teen disappears

An Ohio AMBER Alert ended with the arrest of 48-year-old Shane Steven Smith, stepfather of 13-year-old Mackenzie Hall. He is charged for allegedly trying to pick up the child last seen Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Smith was found Friday evening in the 300 block of Sherman Avenue in Springfield, Ohio. Hall was also found safe in Springfield.

Police told local news station Dayton 24/7 that Smith initially fled the scene but was arrested shortly afterwards.

He is charged with kidnapping and additional charges could be added at a later date.

Local news station WSYX reported that charging documents for Smith said Hall's father reported that cameras showed her leaving a home shortly after 5 a.m

The girl's school bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 6 a.m. Her father then contacted her school, which informed her that she had not arrived.

In charging documents, investigators wrote that a student told a school counselor that the girl's stepfather would pick her up and take her to another state, local news outlets reported.

Local news stations also reported that Smith had two open cases against him: He was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm in October 2023 and charged again with drug possession in February 2024.

What is an AMBER alarm?

An AMBER Alert is a nationwide alert system designed to notify the public of missing children under the age of 18.

The alerts are broadcast via radio, television, road signs, cell phones and other data-enabled devices to share important information about missing children and find them.

Last year, 1,200 children were found thanks to the AMBER alert system and 180 children were rescued due to emergency alerts.

The disappearance must meet certain criteria for an alert to be issued.

An abduction must have occurred, the child must be in danger of serious injury or death, and there must be descriptive information about the child, the suspect, or the suspect's vehicle.

Active AMBER notifications

There is currently an active AMBER Alert in Tennessee.

Sebastian Rogers, 15, was last seen on February 26th.

Rogers went missing from his mother and stepfather's home in Sumner County. He is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes and wears glasses. He was last seen wearing black sweatpants and a black sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about Rogers is urged to call the Sumner County Emergency Communications Center at 615-451-3838 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

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