North Carolina Amber Alert: Arielle Williams abducted in Chapel Hill

UPDATE: The amber alert has been canceled. Arielle was found safe.

A North Carolina Amber Alert has been issued for 5-year-old Arielle Williams after the vehicle she was in was stolen in Chapel Hill, officials say. Anyone with information is urged to call 911 immediately.

The incident happened on Monday when someone stole an SUV outside the Eastgate Shopping Center on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, according to police. Arielle was sitting inside.

The vehicle is a dark blue 2003 Dodge Durango with North Carolina license plate number TDS 4340. However, investigators believe the license plate may have been removed.

The suspect is an unidentified white male who was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and a ball cap with Hurley symbol. He was also carrying a plastic shopping bag.

Arielle is described as a 5-year-old black female with black hair and brown eyes, standing 3 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 45 pounds. She was last seen wearing a tie-dye shirt, blue jeans and Adidas shoes.

Anyone who sees Arielle, the suspect or the stolen vehicle is urged to call 911 immediately, or call the Chapel Hill Police Department at 919-612-8240 if you have other information that could help investigators. You can also call Chapel Hill-Carrboro-UNC Crimestoppers at 919-942-7515.

This is an amber alert. Please check back or follow @BNONews on Twitter as details become available. If you want to receive breaking news alerts by email, click here to sign up. You can also like us on Facebook by clicking here.