The Eyrie

LAKEHILLS, TX — A Bandera County teenager who had been the subject of an Amber Alert has been found safe in East Texas, according to the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said 17-year-old Gabriela Cabrera was located after deputies and investigators spoke with friends and family and then made contact with her. Officials later confirmed she was safe and removed her from missing person systems and Amber Alert protocols.

The sheriff’s office said Cabrera had traveled by bus to Kilgore to meet a young male. Bandera County investigators used a cell phone ping to narrow down a possible location and asked Kilgore police to check the area.

How investigators tracked Cabrera to Kilgore

The sheriff’s office said the search moved quickly once investigators developed a possible location in Kilgore. A cell phone ping pointed them toward the East Texas city, prompting Bandera County officials to request help from the Kilgore Police Department.

Kilgore officers responded to the area and made contact with Cabrera and a young male, according to the update posted by the sheriff’s office. That contact confirmed the teenager had been found and allowed law enforcement to close out the urgent missing-person response.

The sheriff’s office said Cabrera’s case had been active enough to trigger Amber Alert procedures before she was located. Officials did not describe any injuries, and they said the teenager was found safe by law enforcement.

What Cabrera told officers after she was found

According to the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office, Cabrera told Kilgore officers that she had not been forced to leave home and had not been harmed. That statement was part of the information released after officers made contact with her in Kilgore.

Law enforcement also interviewed the young male she had traveled to meet. The sheriff’s office said he will be detained or released pending investigation by Kilgore police, leaving his status in the hands of that department.

The sheriff’s office did not release further details about the relationship between the two or the circumstances that led Cabrera to leave Bandera County. Officials did say the teen was safe and no longer listed in the missing person system.

Parents now working with police on her return home

The Bandera County Sheriff’s Office said Kilgore police are working with Cabrera’s parents to return her to Lakehills. That process was underway after the teenager was found and confirmed safe.

Sheriff Josh Teitge publicly thanked the FBI and the Kilgore Police Department for their help in the search and recovery effort. The sheriff’s office framed the outcome as the result of cooperation between local and federal agencies.

Once Cabrera was located, officials said Amber Alert protocols were lifted. The teenager was also removed from the missing person system, which signaled that the urgent search phase had ended.

The Amber Alert and details released during the search

Before she was found, Texas Department of Public Safety issued an Amber Alert saying Cabrera had last been seen at about 8:30 p.m. Friday in the 500 block of Lake View Drive in Lakehills.

Authorities described her as 5 feet tall, 110 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. At the time of the alert, she was believed to be wearing a blue jean jacket, blue jeans and carrying a black backpack.

The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information to call 911 or contact investigators at 830-796-3771. Those details helped frame the urgency of the search while deputies and investigators worked to locate her.

Why the case drew fast attention from law enforcement

Amber Alerts are typically used when authorities believe a missing child may be in immediate danger, which helps explain the rapid coordination between Bandera County, Kilgore police and the FBI. In this case, officials moved quickly from a report of a missing teen to a confirmed location in East Texas.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation depended on interviews, a phone ping and cooperation between agencies. That combination led officers to Cabrera and ended the active search for the teenager.

With Cabrera found safe, the focus shifted from locating her to returning her home and sorting out the remaining law enforcement review involving the young male she had gone to meet.