Father of boy in Raleigh Amber Alert search charged with murder

Andrea Blanford Image
Friday, December 26, 2014
Father of boy in Raleigh Amber Alert search charged with murder
Father of boy in Raleigh Amber Alert search charged with murderTristan Blue was reported missing from his home in the 5400 block of Portree Place in Raleigh on Wednesday.

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Raleigh police say they have charged the father of a child who was the focus of an Amber Alert search with murder.

Two-year-old Tristan Blue was reported missing by 31-year-old Steven Daniel Blue Wednesday at his home at the Arbor Creek Apartments off Buck Jones Road.

Steven Daniel Blue (image courtesy Raleigh-Wake City-County Bureau of Identification)

Blue told investigators he last saw the boy at 7:45 a.m. Police were not contacted until 1:15 p.m. Investigators initially said they believed the child may have wandered outside and began an intensive search of the neighborhood.

The ground search for the boy was called off due to darkness and was to resume Thursday morning. Just before 7 a.m., detectives were seen collecting evidence from a car outside the boy's apartment.

Just after 7, they announced they were arresting Blue based on "probable cause." He was taken to the Wake County Detention Center and held without bond.

Detectives have also charged the boy's mother - 25-year-old Briana Dangerfield - with child neglect in the case. An arrest warrant alleges she left Tristan alone while she went to work. Her bond was set at $100,000.

Briana Dangerfield (image courtesy Raleigh-Wake City-County Bureau of Identification)

Police said Tristan Blue's body has not been recovered. Anyone with information that might help detectives in the search is asked to call the Raleigh Police Department tip line at (919) 834-HELP.

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