United States Marshals Service offers $2,500 reward in AMBER alert for 9-year-old

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – An Endangered Child Alert issued on May 4 was escalated to an AMBER Alert the following day for a 9-year-old girl out of East Tennessee.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says Carlie Trent was removed from school by her uncle-by-marriage, Gary Simpson, under false pretenses on May 4.

Their whereabouts are currently unknown and the alert is active for both East and Middle Tennessee.

According to the TBI, Simpson has no custodial rights to Carlie but she did live with him at one point in time before going back to live with her father.

Simpson may have taken Carlie to an isolated area "not necessarily in public view," said Josh DeVine, spokesman with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The TBI said their reasoning is because usually in cases like this they receive a high volume of tips. However, in this case, they have only received a few dozen.

Simpson also reportedly purchased items that might be consistent with camping at a local Walmart shortly before picking Carlie up from school. Click here to watch the surveillance video.

Carlie is 4 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 75 lbs with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black and gray tank top shirt with blue jeans.

Simpson is a 57-year-old white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 157 lbs. He is balding and has brown hair and eyes. He was last seen wearing a brown cap, a dark colored shirt and jeans.

He was last seen driving a white 2002 Dodge Conversion Van with TN registration 173GPS.

The van has a dark stripe down the middle with light gold running boards and paint is chipping off of the hood.

On Friday, May 6, the TBI said they continue to pursue leads, including digital evidence, in locating Carlie, but despite their best efforts there have been no credible sightings of the child, van, or suspect.

Any and all tips are encouraged in this case. If you have seen the child, subject or vehicle, please call the Rogersville Police Department at 423-272-7555 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

The United States Marshals Service is offering a $2,500 reward for the safe return of Carlie and information that leads to the arrest of Simpson.