UPDATE
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has issued an Amber Alert for a 12-year-old North Carolina girl missing out of Carteret County who is believed to be with a registered sex offender.
Abigaile Faith Lefevers was last seen at her home in Newport, North Carolina.
She is believed to be with Timothy Howard Newman, 38, a registered sex offender from North Carolina. An investigation has revealed that Timothy Newman has had contact with Abigaile in the past several weeks.
Current investigative information suggests they may be traveling south from South Carolina to Florida, according to the Carteret County Sheriff's office.
The two may be in a 1998 Chrysler Sebring, red with a black top, with North Carolina tag AKT 6534. The car was last seen heading southbound on US 17 near the South Carolina border.
Newman is believed to be very knowledgeable of waterways along the East Coast, his father was a captain of a large vessel, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Newman is possibly hanging around marinas and could possibly be on a boat.
SLED says Newman has experience as a truck driver, therefore if he is still travelling, he may be driving along back roads in order to avoid major highways.
Horry County police have confirmed possible sightings of the car.
Sgt. Robert Kegler, with Horry County police, said a maroon Sebring was spotted at 7:48 p.m. Monday night on Highway 348 and at 7:54 p.m., a red Sebring was spotted on Highway 31 at mile marker 14.
Kegler said there was no confirmation on tags, just the vehicle description.
NewsChannel 15 rode along with a Surfside Beach police officer Tuesday evening as he looked for the car. Click here to watch that story.
According to the Carteret County Sheriff's Office, Abigaile was last seen by her father at home on Sunday at approximately 10 p.m. When he awoke Monday morning at approximately 6:25, he noticed that she was missing.
Newman was last seen at approximately 10 p.m. Sunday by his roommate. When Newman's roommate awoke Monday morning, Newman was missing from the residence.
Newman did not show for work Monday morning.
According to the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry, Newman was convicted in 2004 of two counts of Sexual Offense with Certain Victims. He served two years and three months and three years of probation. According to North Carolina law, the Sexual Offense with Certain Victims statute includes intercourse and other sex acts with a child for whom you have some responsibility, including one living in your home or who you teach or coach.
