WESLACO – The Rio Grande Valley Regional Alert System said they didn’t receive a RAS request from the Rio Hondo Independent School District Police Department after a 10-year-old was reportedly released to an unknown individual.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS wanted to learn more about how the system functions.

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office is the issuing agency for the regional alert system. They said the information wasn’t made available to them.

The sheriff’s office manages the alert system’s operations on a day-to-day basis and sets the criteria for an alert to be sent out. The RAS covers Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties.

We’re working to determine why Rio Hondo ISD police did not request a regional alert system from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.

We know the agency did request an Amber Alert, a statewide notification system used in serious child abductions. The Department of Public Safety manages that alert.

DPS Press Secretary Tom Vinger sent us the following statement in regards to the case, which state in part:

“The Amber Alert activation request was received at approximately 10:30 p.m. The requesting agency is generally notified if there is a regional plan available.”

You can count on us to continue looking into the case and figure out why a regional alert wasn’t issued.