Police fatally shoot father, 7-year-old girl found in Medina County after Ohio Amber Alert

An Amber Alert issued for a 7-year-old girl who went missing from Jefferson County in northeastern Ohio has been canceled after she was found safe late Monday in Medina County.

The girl's noncustodial father, Charles Alexander, 43, died shortly after in a police shooting in Medina Township near Cleveland, the Medina Sheriff's Office confirmed Tuesday.

The Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigations was tapped to investigate the police shooting, according to an agency spokesman.

"Last evening, BCI was requested by the Ohio State Highway Patrol to investigate an officer-involved shooting that occurred near 5050 Eastpointe Drive in Medina," BCI spokesman Steve Irwin said in a statement released Tuesday.

No officers suffered injuries in the shooting, Irwin added.

Medina County Coroner confirmed Tuesday that Alexander died in an Arby's parking lot at the Eastpointe Drive address.

Dispatchers with the Medina Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed to The Dispatch that the girl was found safe near Medina, about two hours from where she was reported abducted from Empire, a village in Jefferson County along the Ohio River across from the northern West Virginia panhandle.

The girl had been last seen around 3 p.m. Monday on Midway Street in the city of Empire in Jefferson County when she was reported missing.

Authorities reported that Alexander abducted the girl after an altercation took place at a family member's house. Authorities said he did not have legal custody of the girl and they feared for her safety.

The pair were initially believed to be traveling in a Ford F-150 before transferring to a 26-foot U-Haul truck with an Arizona license plate of AL74169. It could not be determined if police were able to track the truck's location through the company or through any cellphone Alexander may have had.

However, authorities tracked the truck to Brunswick, and a pursuit began, temporarily closing a portion of Interstate 71 before it ended near Medina. Authorities recovered the girl, and she was reunited with her mother. 

A reporter for WKYC-TV reported on X (formerly known as Twitter) shortly before 10 p.m. that "a large police presence" was in the area of a group of restaurants including, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bob Evans an Arby's in Medina. Those restaurants are located on Eastpointe Drive just off I-71 at Medina Road/Route 18, which is in the area where the pursuit reportedly ended.

The Medina Township Police Department and the Brunswick Division of Police also responded to the confrontation with Alexander. Medina police directed questions to the Medina County Sheriff's Office and Brunswick police, which did not respond to requests for comment.

What is the Ohio Amber Alert program?

Ohio's amber alert program was established in 2003 to notify the public of abducted children.

The alerts are intended to inform the public across a much larger area than just the immediate location where a child disappeared.

AMBER is an acronym standing for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response."

How did the Amber Alert begin?

The Amber Alert system began when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. "Amber" is an acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.

The system was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then murdered. Other states and communities set up their own Amber Alert plans as the idea was adopted across the nation.

How is the public notified of an Amber Alert?

Ohio Amber Alerts are sent out over radio and television airwaves, posted on highway alert signs, and sent to mobile phones.

The program also sends alerts via email, text, social media and fax, according to the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.

Who should you contact about missing children?

Ohioans looking to report a missing child should contact their local police department by calling 911. Missing people can also be reported to the Ohio Attorney General's office at (800) 325-5604.

How does Ohio's Amber Alert process work?

Local law enforcement responds to the abduction first to determine if it meets the criteria for an Amber alert. If it does, local law enforcement can submit an entry to the National Crime Information Center with an Amber alert flag, which alerts multiple agencies.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol would then call the reporting agency to verify the case meets the Amber alert criteria. If it does, an alert is issued, Bret Currence, Education Coordinator for the Ohio Missing Persons Unit, told AMBER Advocate.

How is an Amber Alert activated in Ohio?

There are four criteria that have to be met before an Amber Alert can be issued in Ohio:

• Law enforcement confirms the child is under 18 years of age.
• Law enforcement believes the abduction poses a credible threat of immediate danger or serious bodily harm or death to the child.
• There is sufficient descriptive information about the child, the suspect, and/or the circumstances surrounding the abduction to believe that activation of the alert will help locate the child.
• A law enforcement agency determines the child is not a runaway and has not been abducted as a result of a family abduction unless the investigation determines the child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death.

See all active Amber Alerts in Ohio

A list of all active Amber Alerts is available on the Ohio Amber Alert website.

Can you turn Amber Alerts off on your cellphone?

Yes, on an iPhone:

• Go to Settings, Notifications
• Scroll to the bottom of the screen
• Under Government Alerts, turn the alerts off or on.

On an Android phone, go to:

• Settings, Safety & Emergency
• Wireless emergency alerts
• Toggle Amber alerts on or off

How do you sign up for Amber Alerts?

If an alert is active in your area, it should automatically appear on your phone unless you've turned it off. You can also sign up for social media accounts that will notify you when an Amber Alert is issued:

• On Facebook: Visit www.facebook.com/AMBERAlert and “Like” the page to receive Amber Alerts in your newsfeed. Facebook also automatically notifies users near the location of an Amber Alert.
• On Instagram:  If an Amber Alert is activated by law enforcement and you are in the designated search area, the alert will appear in your Instagram feed.
• On X, formerly known as Twitter: Follow @AMBERAlert to receive rapid Amber Alert notifications on your Twitter feed and share the alert with your followers.

Editor's note: This story is developing and contains updated information.

Columbus Dispatch reporter Nathan Hart and editor Jim Wilhelm contributed to this story.