Orem police ask for help finding missing 7-year-old girl
Mar 23, 2021, 6:45 AM | Updated: 4:41 pm
Photo: Orem Police Department
OREM, Utah — Police in Orem are asking for help locating a missing 7-year-old girl they believe was abducted. They’re also explaining why they didn’t issue an Amber Alert.
Jocelyn Cortez was last seen in Orem at 5:00 p.m. at Classic Skating, wearing black/pink leggings, glittery shoes and a pink jacket with a leopard hood. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Suspects related to missing Orem girl
Orem Police said they are looking for two women, the girl’s grandmother and aunt, who they believe took the girl. She was with several family members, although her mother was running errands and was not with the rest of the group.
Orem Police Lieutenant Nick Thomas says, “They were at Classic Skating in Orem, then they made plans to go to another location as a family. The aunt and grandma did not show up with the little girl.”
Thomas says Jocelyn left Classic Skating with her grandmother, Ivonne Cerda San Martin, and her aunt, Paola Bayon. Other family members assumed they took Jocelyn home.
“When they got home, they weren’t there. The mother came home and [asked] where is the little girl. That’s when they called us,” he says.
Even though Jocelyn is classified as “missing and endangered,” Thomas says there’s one specific reason why the alleged abduction didn’t meet all of the qualifications for an Amber Alert.
Thomas says, “The mother told us that she does not feel that the girl is in danger.”
Police believe the women are in a silver 2000 Ford Mustang with the license plate F26 0BY.
San Martin, who is described as 5 foot 3 and 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Paola Bayon, who is described as being 5 foot 4 and 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
For now, investigators don’t have any indication of where the suspects may be going.
“There are family members that live out of the state that we’re still trying to figure out. We’ve contacted some of them and they have not seen them,” Thomas says.
Police shared photos of both women on social media.
If you or someone you know has any information, police ask that you contact Orem Police Dispatch at 801-229-7070.
