BIA reports 2 girls forcibly abducted, vehicle reported in Yah-Ta-Hey

Posted by Donovan Quintero | Mar 28, 2021 | News |

WINDOW ROCK

Navajo Nation Police received a tip that suspected abductor Andres Pinto’s vehicle may have been located at a home in Yah-Ta-Hey, New Mexico, on Sunday morning.

After about 20 minutes of searching a home, police reported they made no contact with Pinto or the two teenagers he allegedly abducted on Saturday night.

According to a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs news release, Pinto has ties to Gallup.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Amber Crotty, chair of the Sexual Assault Prevention Subcommittee, said on Sunday, “Every minute counts.”

“We need to find these girls safely and law enforcement needs our help,” Crotty said. “If you know something, say something. If you spotted the vehicle or have any information, please contact law enforcement immediately. Take this serious.”

Crotty asked everyone to think of the teenager’s families too.

“I’m also thinking of their families and just giving them the support, what they need because their girls were abducted,” she said. “We need them to return home.”

The BIA issued an Amber Alert for two girls from Santo Domingo Pueblo, 41 miles north of Albuquerque.

The news release said Pinto, 37, of Albuquerque, abducted Zuriah Castillo, 14, and Jaylynn Miller, 16.

Pinto allegedly took the two girls by force from a gas station on the Santo Domingo Pueblo Reservation on Saturday around 7:08 p.m. He was driving a maroon 1991 Cadillac Deville bearing New Mexico license plate 514-WML.

Police say Castillo is 5-5, weighs 130 pounds, has shoulder-length bleached blonde hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, and black jeans.

Miller is 5 feet tall, weighs 112 pounds, with shoulder-length brown hair that is dyed red, and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, black jeans and Vans shoes.

The suspect, police said, is 5-8 tall, 190 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.