A 10-month-old infant girl who police reported abducted on Friday from a New Mexico park where her mother and another woman were found dead on Friday has been found and a suspect is in custody, the FBI reported on Monday morning.
The condition of Eleia Maria Torres was not known and the suspect has not yet been named by police or the FBI.
Eleia was taken to the hospital “as a precautionary measure,” a release from Clovis Police Department reads. The police said more details would be released at a later time.
Samantha Cisneros, Eleia’s mother, and Taryn Allen, both 23, were found Friday afternoon with gunshot wounds near a minivan at Ned Houk Park in Clovis, New Mexico.
Police were called to the park after the two women’s bodies were discovered there just before 4:30 p.m. local time by passersby.
A 5-year-old girl was also found seriously injured in the park and is recovering at a local hospital.
She was later identified as the sister of Eleia. The fathers of both children are cooperating with police and the FBI and helping with the investigation, a news conference by Clovis Police said on Sunday.
Police found an infant car seat, stroller, and baby bottle at the scene, which led them to search for the infant through the day on Saturday and Sunday.
Once she was identified, an amber alert was issued Friday afternoon for the missing child asking for help from the public in locating her.
It was canceled Monday morning with an update that Eleia “has been located and is safe,” according to the Clovis Police Department.
“Through interviews with family members, investigators learned Samantha Cisneros was the mother to the young female child found at the scene and was also the mother to a 10-month-old child, Eleia Maria Torres,” Sunday’s news release said.
Due to a small piece of debris left behind and witness testimony, police thought the suspect might be driving a maroon Honda.
The FBI assisted local police with the investigation and search.
During the press conference on Sunday, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Division Raul Bujanda said, “I promise that the FBI will be with Clovis until we find Eleia, and we find the individual or individuals responsible for these horrific acts.”
