Virginia State Police, acting on behalf of the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, activated a Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative (CODI) alert on January 4, 2026, for 12‑year‑old Sierra Dawn Felts, who was reported missing from Galax, Virginia in the early morning hours. Felts, described by authorities as a white female approximately 5 ft 5 in tall, about 135 lbs with blonde hair and green eyes, was last seen around 1 a.m. on Savannah Road wearing a distinctive green jumpsuit with panda designs. Law enforcement officials expressed concern that her disappearance posed a credible threat to her health and safety, a key criterion for issuing a CODI alert, which is designed to rapidly disseminate information when the circumstances of a missing child’s disappearance are suspicious or dangerous and when sufficient identifying information is available for public assistance. (https://www.wdbj7.com)
Investigators indicated that Felts may have been accompanied by a Hispanic male in an unknown vehicle, although specific details about the individual or the vehicle were initially unclear. The alert urged members of the public to provide any relevant information to the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, emphasizing the urgency and the potential risk to the child’s wellbeing. The CODI alert system, established in Virginia in 2024 to aid in the search for missing or endangered children, functions alongside other emergency alert programs, such as AMBER Alerts, to engage the public in locating vulnerable missing persons. Activation of a CODI alert requires law enforcement to determine that the child’s circumstances meet defined thresholds, including unknown whereabouts and credible threats to safety, even if an abduction has not been conclusively verified. (https://www.12onyourside.com)
Later on January 4, authorities confirmed that Sierra Dawn Felts had been located safe, leading to the cancellation of the CODI alert. The swift resolution of the case was welcomed by law enforcement and the community, underscoring both the effectiveness of coordinated alert systems and the importance of public cooperation in missing‑child investigations. (wset.com)