Authorities are searching for a 16-year-old girl with developmental disabilities who went missing in the Bronx earlier this week.
Karla Galarza was last seen at about 5 p.m. Tuesday in the area of East 149th Street and Courtlandt Avenue, officials said. Garlaza suffers from low cognitive function and bipolar disorder, as well as other psychological conditions. She is said to have the mental capacity of a much younger child.
According to police, Galarza lives in a foster home in Putnam County and was in the Bronx with a caregiver for an appointment at a mental health clinic. As she and the caregiver were leaving the clinic, Galarza broke free and ran away.
Two workers from the clinic ran after her for several blocks, but lost her, authorities said. Initially police thought Garlaza might go back to the foster home, but she has not shown up there.
She is described as being 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, and was last seen wearing faded gray jeans, black boots, a pink polar fleece, and a pink down vest. She was not wearing a winter coat.
Anyone with information on Garlaza's whereabouts should contact Cortland Police at 914-737-7171 or call 911.
