South Miami mother says police reacted too quickly in issuing missing child alert – NBC 6 South Florida

A South Miami mother who was the subject of a missing person alert with her daughter last weekend said police were too quick to sound the alarm.

Christine Betancourt said she left South Florida for a trip to Disney World before a judge signed an order Friday requiring her daughter to be with her father immediately. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a missing child alert over the weekend for the 3-year-old girl.

Their attorney tried to delay the custody exchange, but South Miami police issued an alert for the couple before a judge could grant an extension until Tuesday afternoon.

It was then that the mother obeyed and brought the girl to her father.

“There was no kidnapping or interference with child custody in this case,” said Sam Rabin, Betancourt’s attorney. “There was no criminal conduct or wrongdoing and that is why Betancourt has not been charged with a crime. The events were triggered by a false missing persons report that should not have been made.”

“I was not contacted by the police. There was no control, nothing was done and the false missing person report reached the level it did and it was even maintained even after the victim was notified,” Betancourt said. “I was fine and my mother had notified the police that my daughter and I were fine.”

Betancourt said she would file a complaint with South Miami police. The department declined to answer NBC6's questions, saying only that they did their job and the child was safe.

The father's attorney said they had no idea where the mother and daughter were, and the father filed the missing person's report because the judge signed the pick-up order — which the mother and her attorney admit was in effect for three days while they were in central Florida.