BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The parents of a missing 17-year-old girl are asking for the public’s help.
An AMBER Alert is still active for Briana Guerra as of 9 p.m. Wednesday. The Texas Department of Public Safety first issued it on Tuesday.
“We’re worried,” Gabriel Guerra, her father, told KSAT. “We just want to bring her back home.”
Raquel Guerra, Briana’s mother, said her daughter missed her morning dosage of medicine before attending a church event. Raquel Guerra said when she went to pick up her daughter, Briana was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Raquel Guerra said San Antonio police arrested Briana on Saturday for a family assault charge.
Briana’s brother is Matthew Guerra. Matthew and his pregnant girlfriend, Savanah Soto, were murdered in 2023.
“She had a change in her medication, her brother’s (murder) trial is coming up, and she’s just had a lot going on,” Gabriel said. “But (the San Antonio Police Department) said since she had already committed the crime, there was nothing they could do.”
Because of Briana’s age, she was taken to the Bexar County jail.
According to the AMBER Alert, Briana was last seen just before 8 a.m. Monday on West Commerce Street. Gabriel Guerra said she had been released from jail on her own, without her parents being notified.
“I made it extremely known over and over again that she was in no way, shape or form, to be let go,” Gabriel Guerra said. “She is missing her medication.”
As of 9 p.m. on Wednesday, no one knows where Briana is or where she went after leaving jail.
In an emailed statement to KSAT, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said, “a 17-year-old is not legally released into parental custody in the adult system.”
“In Texas, 17-year-olds are considered adults for criminal justice purposes,” a BCSO spokesperson said. “Because of this legal status, there is no law requiring a parent or guardian to be present for their release, regardless of the time of day.”
However, the spokesperson said BCSO has “a safety practice” of holding 17-year-olds until daylight to ensure “they aren’t exiting into an unsafe environment at night.”
The spokesperson said Briana’s release was “handled within policy,” but that an Internal Affairs investigation was ongoing because of “the administrative oversight where the requested courtesy call was not made to the father.”
Still, BCSO said it is investigating Briana’s disappearance.
The AMBER Alert said Briana was last seen wearing a blue shirt, jean shorts and blue Crocs with a marigold flower and a roman numeral tattoo on her left arm.
She is 5 feet 6 inches tall and has brown hair and brown eyes, officials said.
“If anyone sees her, just please stay close until law enforcement shows up,” Gabriel Guerra said.
Briana’s parents want her to know they love her.
“We love you,” Raquel Guerra said. “We miss you. We need you to come home.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact BCSO at 210-335-6000 or email missingpersons@bexar.org
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