For days, a white Nissan Altima with no license plates was one of the most important clues in the urgent search for 14-year-old Diana Galvez Ortega.

Now police have found the car.

But they still have not found Diana.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office announced that the Nissan connected to Diana’s AMBER Alert was located in Monterey County on Sept. 8. Investigators are continuing to search for the teenager and her father, 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez, who is wanted on felony charges involving Diana.

The development changes one major element of the search. Authorities are no longer asking the public to watch for the Nissan.

They are asking people to watch for Diana and Perez themselves.

And despite the discovery of what had been the most identifiable physical clue in the case, authorities have not publicly disclosed where the two may be now.

The Car Had Helped Trigger the AMBER Alert

Diana and Perez had already been missing for weeks by the time California authorities issued the AMBER Alert on Sept. 6.

According to the alert, the pair had last been seen together in Salinas on Aug. 4 at approximately 2 a.m.

Investigators later obtained surveillance footage showing Diana and Perez together in the Salinas area in a white Nissan Altima without license plates.

That discovery was crucial.

The sheriff’s office explained that investigators previously had not been able to confirm with certainty that Diana and Perez were traveling together, and they had not had identifying information for a vehicle believed to be carrying Diana.

Once they had both pieces of information, authorities requested the AMBER Alert.

The Nissan therefore became more than just another piece of evidence.

It was a highly recognizable object members of the public could actively search for.

Then, two days after the alert was issued, it was found.

The Nissan Was Found — But Diana Was Not

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said the white Nissan was located with help from the community.

Officials have said only that it was found somewhere in Monterey County. Their public announcement did not provide a more precise location or explain the circumstances in which the vehicle was recovered.

More importantly, neither Diana nor Perez was reported found with it.

The sheriff’s office immediately clarified that the Altima was no longer being sought in connection with the AMBER Alert, while the search for the two people continued.

That distinction matters because the original alert asked residents to look for three things: Diana, Perez and the white Nissan.

Now one of those targets has been eliminated.

The case has become a search focused on the missing teenager and the man authorities accuse of abusing her.

There is also an obvious question raised by the vehicle’s discovery: Does finding the abandoned Nissan mean the pair switched to another vehicle?

Authorities have not said that.

They have not publicly announced evidence showing that Diana and Perez entered another car, nor have they identified a second vehicle associated with them. It would therefore be speculation to conclude that the Nissan was deliberately abandoned as part of an effort to change transportation.

What can be said is much narrower: the vehicle police previously told the public to search for is no longer part of the active lookout.

Authorities Say Diana Is a Victim

The urgency surrounding Diana’s disappearance is tied to allegations against Perez that are far more serious than an ordinary missing-person investigation.

Authorities allege Perez sexually abused his daughter and impregnated her when she was still a child.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office has filed a criminal charge against Perez accusing him of sexually assaulting Diana. Prosecutors have publicly described the teenager as a victim of her father’s alleged abuse.

The sheriff’s office has echoed that message.

In its announcement that the Nissan had been found, the department said Perez is wanted for numerous felony violations involving Diana and stressed that she is the victim in those allegations.

Officials said their priority remains finding Diana and ensuring her safety and well-being.

The search is also connected to an even more complicated investigation involving a newborn authorities have called “Baby Angelita.”

The Case Began With a Newborn Found Along a Road

On Aug. 1, a newborn girl was found dead along Struve Road in northern Monterey County.

Investigators later determined that the case was connected to Diana.

Authorities allege Diana had given birth and that Perez was the biological father of both Diana and the newborn. The discovery led investigators into a disturbing series of allegations involving sexual abuse, child endangerment and the circumstances surrounding the infant’s death.

Early descriptions of the case also created confusion about Diana’s own legal status.

Law enforcement obtained what is known as a Ramey warrant for the teenager in connection with the infant death investigation.

That initially led to reports portraying Diana as a murder suspect.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office subsequently issued an important clarification.

Prosecutors said they had not received a filing request seeking criminal charges against Diana and had not received investigative reports on which to make such a charging decision.

They also explained that a Ramey warrant can be obtained by law enforcement through a judge without advance approval from the district attorney.

Only prosecutors ultimately decide whether criminal charges will be formally filed.

At the same time, the DA’s office emphasized that Diana should be understood as a child who authorities say was victimized by her father.

That distinction has become increasingly central to how officials are discussing the case publicly.

Finding the Vehicle Changes the Public Search

The Nissan’s recovery is significant not because authorities have said it solves the mystery of where Diana went next — they have not — but because it removes the most specific object attached to the statewide alert.

Before Sept. 8, someone could see a white Altima without plates and potentially recognize a vehicle investigators desperately wanted to find.

That is no longer the case.

The sheriff’s office is now asking residents to remain alert specifically for Diana and Perez.

Perez is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, approximately 170 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Diana is described as approximately 4 feet 10 inches tall and 100 pounds, also with black hair and brown eyes.

Authorities warn anyone who sees either of them not to approach and instead to call 911 immediately.

Hundreds of Tips Have Already Come In

The case has generated an enormous public response.

After the AMBER Alert was issued, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said it received hundreds of calls, emails and messages containing information about the investigation.

Officials acknowledged that people want more answers, particularly about where investigators believe Diana may be and what happened after she was last seen.

But the department said some information cannot yet be made public without potentially jeopardizing the investigation or efforts to locate the teenager safely.

For now, the strongest physical clue publicly connected to the search has been recovered.

But the central question remains unanswered.

Diana is still the person authorities are trying to bring to safety.

And finding the Nissan did not end the search.

It simply changed what everyone should now be looking for.