Amber Alerts Help Find Missing Girls 700 Miles From Home Where Mother Was Discovered Dead
Two Texas girls whose disappearance after their mother was found dead sparked a multi-state AMBER alert have been found safe 700 miles from home in Colorado.
The alert was issued Monday for 14-year-old Lilianais Victoria Cake Griffith and 7-year-old Luluvioletta Bandera-Margaret after their mother was found dead by police in their Round Rock, Texas home on Sunday.
Cops have not said how the mother, Tonya Bates, died but said the death is suspicious. The search for the girls centered around the mother's reported roommate and person of interest in her death, Terry Miles.
According to police in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Miles was arrested there at least seven times between 2006 and 2015. Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso told reporters one of those arrests involved pornography that involved a juvenile.
"When we interviewed him for that it was a pretty disturbing interview," said Mancuso.
Miles is also being investigated for allegations of the rape of a juvenile teen in Sulphur, Louisiana, according to the town's chief of police, Lewis Coats.
Police in Louisiana said their investigation is ongoing but that Miles has since moved to Texas, where he was reportedly living with Tonya Bates when she was found dead.
The girls were found after CBS affiliate KKTV reports that a Las Animas County Deputy spotted the suspect's vehicle based on the AMBER Alert.
Miles was stopped by the Las Animas County deputy. The girls were reportedly found in the car and Miles was taken in without incident.
Round Rock police chief Allen Banks said they would be interviewing Miles and the girls and said their mother's death was being investigated as a homicide.
"CAUGHT!!!" Banks tweeted Wednesday. "Terry Allen Miles was caught in Colorado without incident. The girls are SAFE!!! Thank God!!"
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