Amber Alert issued for 4 Texas children missing and in danger

AUSTIN, Texas -- A statewide Amber Alert has been issued for four children in central Texas who are believed to be in grave or immediate danger.

ABC affiliate KTRK reported that The Travis County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation into the abductions of Gabriella Garcia, 10, Julian Garcia, 7, Sebastian Garcia, 3, and Giovanna Garcia, 2.

Authorities are also looking for Cesar Giovanna Garcia, 32, who may be driving a white 2011 Chevrolet C1500 pickup with Texas license plate NNM 1622.

Gabriella Garcia is a 10-year-old Hispanic female. She is 4 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 85 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a green T-shirt and flowered sweatpants.

Julian Garcia is a 7-year-old Hispanic male. He is 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 75 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black shirt and tan shorts.

Sebastian Garcia is a 3-year-old Hispanic male. He weighs 40 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.

Giovanna Garcia is a 2-year-old Hispanic female. She weighs 25 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a maroon Christmas cookie shirt.

The suspect in this Amber Alert is Cesar Giovanni Garcia, a 32-year-old Hispanic man. He's 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 240 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo on his chest with "CIDNI" on it and an arm tattoo with "MY CITY" on it.

Certain criteria need to be met in order for law enforcement to issue an Amber Alert for a missing child age 17 or younger.

First, there needs to be a reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction occurred. Additionally, the law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

Another criteria is that there is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction that would assist in the recovery of the child, such as a vehicle description or license plate number.

As part of the Amber Alert, the child's name and other critical date elements, including the child abduction flag, are entered into the National Crime Information Center.

The Amber Alert system, used in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, was created in 1996. It stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bike in Arlington, Texas, and later murdered.

You can view all active Texas Amber Alerts from the Texas Dept. of Public Safety here.