Family Holds Vigil For Missing Redondo Beach Girl

REDONDO BEACH, CA — The family of a missing Redondo Beach teen, who was last seen Wednesday with two homicide suspects, held a vigil on Sunday in Windsor Hills to pray she returns home safely.

An Amber Alert was issued Wednesday for Alora Benitez, 15, who was last seen with her mother and her mother's ex-husband. Maricela Mercado, 40, and Roman Cerratos, 39 are both suspects in the killing of a man whose body was found in the front seat of a car in Carson.

Benitez was last seen at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Torrance leaving with Mercado and Cerratos in a white, 2013 4-door BMW sedan, with Nevada license plate "MARIMAR," according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The plate may have been removed and replaced with a paper plate. It's unknown which direction they were traveling.

The missing girl's father, Julian Benitez Jr., told KTLA "I just need her back. I need her back in my arms."

"Alora, if you’re listening, if you see any of this: Make a run for it. Call 911. Get to a phone. Ask for help. Go where there’s a lot of people," her father said.

The teen and her mother lived in a Redondo Beach apartment, where the woman was seen on Wednesday moving items from the home, according to KCAL9. A family car remains parked at the location, the news station reported.

The teen is Hispanic, 5 feet 2 and weighs 100 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Mercado is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Cerratos is 6-foot-1 and weighs 210 pounds, and is bald with brown eyes.

They are suspects in the killing of 32-year-old Jeffrey Appel, of Las Vegas, who was found dead Tuesday in the front seat of a white Audi parked in the 400 block of East Carson Plaza Drive, according to KTLA

Anyone who spots the girl, her mother, Cerratos or the sedan they are believed to be riding in should call 911 immediately, according to the sheriff's department. The adults should be considered armed and dangerous, authorities warned.

Anyone with information on the suspects' whereabouts was asked to call sheriff's homicide Detectives Lawler or Blagg at (323) 890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Related Coverage >> Amber Alert: Suspected Killers Take Redondo Girl, Police Say

City News Service contributed to this post