A 13-year-old boy in state custody went missing after he allegedly ran from University of New Mexico’s child psychiatric center.
The Children, Youth and Families Department confirmed the information Friday afternoon and identified the missing child as Andy Carrasco.
CYFD said New Mexico State Police took Carrasco from a treatment center on July 17. Police transported him to UNM’s Psychiatric Center because he needed acute care.
CYFD said Carrasco left the facility during an internal transfer on August 11 and jumped a fence.
The department told KOB 4 that it notified UNM police, state police, and Roswell police about Carrasco’s disappearance on Tuesday. However, state police said they did not learn he was missing until Friday morning, when UNM police informed them.
“On July 17, New Mexico State Police transported him from a treatment center to UNM Children’s Psychiatric Center due to acute care needs. On August 11, during an internal transfer at the Center, he fled after jumping over a fence,” CYFD’s full statement read.
“CYFD was notified at 1 p.m. that day that he had fled at 11 a.m. Law enforcement—including New Mexico State Police, Roswell police, and university police—were notified that day and the next, along with the missing child hotline and Statewide Central Intake.”
Maralyn Beck, founder of New Mexico Child First Network, said she has been a foster mom to multiple teens. She said minors stayed at the children’s psychiatric center before the new facility opened in June.
“When you are inpatient at Children’s Psychiatric. There are double doors in, like you are badged in, you are badged through, you are signed in, you are checked out, you are signed out and checked in. They do actually have a lot of security measures,” Beck said.
“Now that being said, if this took place on a playground outside and the the kid absconded over a multi 10 foot wall, I don’t know how you prevent that. But I think someone should be asking if it’s happened once, it’s going to happen again,” she added.
She said children running away while in CYFD custody pose a bigger concern. From the beginning of April through the end of June, the department reported 56 children as runaways.
Beck said she worries that a 13-year-old in a behavioral health crisis has spent two days sleeping on Albuquerque’s streets.
The Britney Alert from state police said Carrasco was wearing a brown shirt and blue scrubs. Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call 911 or contact UNM police.
Update As Of August 18, 2026: Missing Boy Found
Authorities confirmed that police found the 13-year-old boy, who ran from a psychiatric center Tuesday, on Saturday. Officials issued a Brittany Alert for him a day before officers found him.
Albuquerque police officers located him near Central Avenue and Virginia Street while responding to a call for service.
Now, questions remain about why authorities did not issue the alert on the same day he went missing. At around 2 p.m. Tuesday, the boy climbed over a fence at the University of New Mexico Children’s Psychiatric Center.
The lead agency in the search, UNM Police, said officers immediately began looking for him. A spokesperson said UNMH initially did not provide officers enough information about the boy’s mental condition to trigger a Brittany Alert.
That information came Friday after the Children, Youth and Families Department called. The department gave enough information to request the alert.
Brittany Alerts require authorities to establish that a missing person has a developmental disability.
Concerns Raised Over Alert Delay
Former state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, who created the alert, questioned why it took so long to issue it.
“What more information did they need, it seems pretty clear from the moment UNMPD became aware of this young man going missing, that he was on a psychiatric hold,” Candelaria said.
Candelaria said he worries UNMPD may have hesitated too much to request the alert.
“Certainly, the law gives law enforcement agencies a significant amount of discretion, of when to trigger this alert, this particular case though, gives voice to some concerns I had even back then about the law, about whether or not there was too much discretion and too much delay built into
the system that would undermine its effectiveness,” he said.
Authorities Explain Their Response
UNMPD said it alerted the Albuquerque Police Department less than an hour into the search Tuesday to be on the lookout. Police also entered his information into the National Crime Information Center and contacted the New Mexico Missing Persons Clearinghouse.
Source learned this was the second time the boy escaped from UNMH the previous week. He also escaped from a separate building in April, UNMPD and APD quickly found him.
CYFD officials said they learned the boy was missing more than an hour after he ran away. A spokesperson said the agency contacted UNMPD and APD that day. They first reached out to New Mexico State Police on Wednesday.
The boy is now staying at a secure facility under CYFD custody.
Source asked UNMPD whether it was reviewing the case.
“As part of our commitment to accountability and continuous improvement, we routinely review significant incidents and our response to them. Any review will focus on ensuring our actions were consistent with department policy, training, and applicable law,” a spokesperson responded.
Brant.One will continue updating this article as more information becomes available, helping readers stay informed about the latest developments.
