Amber Alert issued to 12-year-old Henry County girl police says in extreme danger

BASSETT, Va. – Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert after a child abduction happened Friday afternoon, according to authorities.

12-year-old Allie Michele Broadaway is reportedly in extreme danger and was reported missing by her family at approximately 1:45 PM at 2373 Reed Creek Drive in Bassett.

Allie is about four feet tall and weighs about 107 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen in a gray James Madison University sweatshirt and dark colored fleece pants.

Authorities believe she was kidnapped by a 21-year-old Texas man, Caleb Christopher Merritt.

Merritt is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.

Police believe he may be driving a 2000 light green Mercury Grand Marquis with Texas plate DMP-2294.

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Southwestern Virginia Internet Crimes against Children Task Force on Thursday about a complaint about social media messages exchanged between Broadaway and Merritt.

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Investigators found that Merritt visited a 24-hour fitness center on Greensboro Road, where they could locate him and confiscate his electronic device for forensic analysis.

Through further investigation, authorities discovered that Merritt and Allie met on Instagram in December 2020, where they communicated until Merrit traveled to Virginia in early February 2021 to meet her.

Authorities discovered that Merritt had set up camp in a wooded area behind her home and met her several times before using a messaging app to tell her to leave her home.

Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry said with what they knew on Thursday, they shouldn’t have to arrest Merritt.

“We checked. We pushed every road that was forced, but there was just no probable cause at the time,” Perry said. “We’re trying to protect ourselves from everything we can.”

Below is an interview that 10 news reporter Shayne Dwyer did with Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry late Friday night about Allie’s kidnapping:

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Authorities believe that after she was forced to leave her home, she was picked up by Merritt and has not been seen since.

Perry said that while Allie may have gone with Merritt voluntarily, she is still a minor, so authorities are treating this as a child abduction case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751.