Girl, 12, Goes Missing from Bradenton Taco Bell

Sheriff's deputies are searching for a 12-year-old girl who went missing from an East Bradenton on Thursday evening.

Valerie Davis was at the restaurant at 6310 E. State Road 70 with her mother, Marcela Gonzalez, who works there and brings her daughter with her while school is out. Davis left the Taco Bell on foot around 5:30 or 6 p.m. and was seen shortly after in the River Landings subdivision nearby, where she spoke with two residents, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office reported.

Davis, who is about 5-foot-5 and weighs around 145 pounds, was last seen wearing pink pants and a black shirt. Her hair is cut short in the back with longer hair on the sides, and she may be carrying a brown backpack. The girl, who is not from this area, did not have a cell phone, and it's unknown if she had any money with her, officials said.

Deputies used an article of the girl's clothing and a bloodhound to track her through River Landings onto Caruso Road, State Road 70 and eventually onto Lockwood Ridge, where a Wal-mart employee said the girl had been seen at the store, according to the report. Deputies attempted to view the store's surveillance tapes, but there weren't any employees there who had access to the system, the report stated. Due to heavy foot traffic, a fresh track was not able to be established.

Deputies said they visited all businesses along State Road 70 and each theater inside the Royal Palm Cinema but were unable to find the girl.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or contact the sheriff's office at 941-747-3011, ext. 2260.