Two young children have been found after an amber alert was issued when they were abducted by their father – who allegedly also murdered their mother.
Arya Maldonado, aged three, and her two-year-old sister, Alana, have been discovered safe and sound after a huge police hunt.
Officers also negotiated the surrender of Jonathan Maldonado-Cruz, leading to his arrest.
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The 23-year-old stands accused of murdering the mother of his children, 22-year-old Madeline Rose Cueva.
It was established that Maldonado-Cruz is likely to have taken his daughters in the early hours of 28 January.
Police were sent to a home located in Hanford, California, to conduct a welfare check at around 4pm that same day after the father of the victim flagged that he had not heard from her.
They found Madeline’s body inside.
It appeared that she had suffered a fatal gunshot wound.
At the point of discovery, the King’s County Sheriff’s Office believed that around 15 hours had passed since the shooting.
Concern for Arya and Alana’s wellbeing triggered an immediate search for their whereabouts.
The FBI was alerted and began to track the suspect’s mobile phone, as well as Madeline’s.
They discovered that Maldonado-Cruz had travelled south and crossed the border to enter Mexico, as reported by Need To Know.
An amber alert was issued affecting King’s County.
But alerts were also active in Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, San Diego, and Imperial Counties near the Mexican border.
According to police, the suspect’s mother reached out to the detective in the case and said that her son was ready to hand himself over.
Authorities have not disclosed exactly where across the border the girls were located at the time of the arrest.
Arrangements were made through the suspect’s mother for the children, herself and Maldonado-Cruz to cross the border back to California.
Yesterday (30 January), KCSO shared a statement confirming both girls are safe and that Maldonado-Cruz is now in custody.
The announcement included an image of Arya and Alana with crisps and a drink, although they both looked worn out.
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