The Latest: Dad says he hasn't heard from kids taken in 1985
WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — The Latest on a mother charged with abducting her children three decades ago (all times local):
12:35 p.m.
The father of two girls who disappeared with their mother in 1985 and were tracked down in Texas says he still has not heard from them.
Russell Yates tells The Associated Press on Wednesday that he doesn't know what his wife told their daughters about him.
The girls were 10 months old and 3 years old when they vanished. They're now in their 30s and live in the Houston area.
He says he loved his wife dearly and acknowledged that he hit her during an argument after she discovered he had an affair. He described it as a slap.
Yates says the affair is the biggest regret of his life, and he knows he hurt her terribly. Yates says he is sorry.
His wife pleaded not guilty Wednesday to abduction.
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10:10 a.m.
A woman charged with abducting her two daughters from Rhode Island in 1985 has pleaded not guilty.
Elaine Yates had been living under the name Liana Lynn Waldberg in Houston. She entered her plea Wednesday morning in a courtroom in Warwick, Rhode Island, to one count of abduction.
A magistrate judge set bail at $50,000 personal recognizance and will allow her to return to Houston to live and work. He also required her to sign a waiver of extradition and surrender her passport.
He set a hearing for Feb. 1 to determine her attorney.
Police tracked down Yates and her daughters, Kelly and Kimberly, after an anonymous tip.
The children were 10 months and 3 years old when they disappeared. Their father says he wants to see his children.
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1 a.m.
A mother charged with snatching her two daughters from Rhode Island in 1985 is scheduled to appear before a judge after police found the three living in the Houston area.
Rhode Island State Police say an anonymous tip two days before Christmas led authorities to Kimberly and Kelly Yates and their 69-year-old mother, Elaine.
Elaine Yates had been living under the name Liana Lynn Waldberg.
The mother was arrested Monday without incident, and faces arraignment Wednesday in Superior Court in Warwick.
Kelly Yates was 10 months old and her sister, Kimberly Yates, was 3 years old when they disappeared. They're now in their 30s.
Their father says he wants to see his children, and is waiting for them to get in touch.
