DERRY, N.H. (AP) – Police searching for a 10-year-old girl and her mother believe the two of them may be together and headed for New York state.

“We don’t believe that the child is in any danger, but we do want to locate her,” Lt. John Muise said of Kirsten Marie White, who police say has been missing since Feb. 13.

The National Crime Information Center has issued a notice asking authorities to stop Kirsten’s mother, Dawn White, 29, who is wanted for questioning in connection with her daughter’s whereabouts.

“We are pretty certain that Kirsten is now with her mom,” Muise said. “Knowing that the girl is still alive is a positive, but because they have left the state during a police investigation raises some red flags.”

According to school superintendent John Moody, an anonymous caller contacted the school district on Feb. 13 and told an administrative assistant that Kirsten has not been attending school for over a year and that she may be the victim of neglect.

Chuck Steele, the district’s attendance officer and a former police captain, was told the child left the country last fall.

After receiving conflicting reports from relatives, he told the Derry Police Department.

After an initial interview with Dawn White, police were not satisfied with her answers and tried to schedule a second interview. That’s when they determined she had fled the state, said Capt. Vernon Thomas.

Police say relatives do not believe that Kirsten has been harmed in any way, but would not elaborate.

Dawn White could be facing charges of child neglect if authorities are able to prove that Kirsten has not been attending school, Muise said.

Failure to comply with the state law that requires school attendance is punishable as a violation and a fine of up to $1,000.

The local school district, according to Moody, has no record of Kirsten being registered, and police said there is no evidence that she is being home schooled. Police believe she may have last attended an elementary school in Berlin.

Dawn White’s husband, Jean Pierre Vonomburgh, 31, may be traveling with the mother and child in a red 2001 Subaru Forester with New Hampshire plates C497.

AP-ES-02-22-04 1604EST