Amber Alert canceled: Four Tsayatoh children reported missing found at suspect’s family home, suspect at large
DÁ’DEESTŁ’IN HÓTSAA
An Amber Alert for four children saying they were abducted Thursday afternoon in Tsayatoh, New Mexico, has been canceled, Navajo Police Chief Phillip Francisco said.
The Amber Alert was canceled around 10:04 p.m.
Authorities began searching for the four children – Turquoise Sky Peshlakai, 10; Rumaldo Peshlakai Jr., 7; Coral Dawn Peshlakai, 5; and Raincloud Peshlakai, 2 – after they were allegedly abducted by their father, Rumaldo Peshlakai, in a maroon Yukon.
Two Amber Alerts were issued – to ensure the first one went out – after the children were abducted Thursday afternoon, Francisco said in an interview with the Navajo Times on Thursday night.
Officers responded to an alleged domestic dispute, according to an earlier press release from the Navajo Nation Police Department.
Rumaldo Peshlakai fled the scene with the children in the Yukon and threatened to harm the children. Peshlakai was believed to be on foot with the children.
When police located the vehicle in Tsayatoh, Peshlakai and the children were not in the vehicle. Dozens of law enforcement scoured the Tsayatoh community but did not locate the children and the suspect.
Francisco said police found the children at the residence of Peshlakai’s mother on Old Red Lake Road in Fort Defiance around 9:30 p.m.
“We found the four children, but the male is still outstanding,” Francisco said. “The children are OK.
“The father, his mom’s house, is where the kids were left … and he took off,” Francisco explained. “He was calling the police and the FBI after he saw the Amber Alert. He was communicating with them and said they’re (children) fine and then he disappeared.
“We were trying to convince him to come in. He left them (the children) at his mom’s house, and he disappeared. So, he’s still outstanding.”
Francisco said the children were taken to a children’s shelter for the time being.
The search for the children was coordinated between six police agencies, including the Navajo Nation Police and the FBI.
“Without their help, it would have taken longer, and it would have been way harder,” Francisco added. “We’d like to thank other agencies for their help.”
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