UPDATE
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have found a week-old baby who was reported missing Thursday after her mother was shot to death in Kansas, police said Saturday.
Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said baby Sophia was found alive after authorities executed a search warrant before dawn at a Dallas home, The Wichita Eagle reported. He said the baby is in protective custody and is doing well.
“This is the best possible outcome to a very sad case,” Ramsay said at a news conference.
Two adults were in custody and being interviewed Saturday, Ramsay said. He also said more suspects could be identified, but provided few details, saying “it is still an active investigation.” No one has been charged.
“It’s a complicated case and we want to make sure we get it right,” Ramsay said.
Police said investigators established late Friday that someone who knew the mother had fled to Dallas with the baby. The baby was reported missing, the same day her mother, 27-year-old Laura Abarca-Nogueda, was shot to death in her west Wichita apartment.
The FBI had joined the search for the baby, and investigators worked around the clock since Sophia went missing, he said.
“Hard work and the collaboration with the FBI is really what made this (closure) come about,” he said.
Sophia will be reunited with relatives “as soon as possible,” he said.
Dallas police “dropped everything” to assist in the case once investigators learned Sophia was there, Ramsay said.
—
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the search for a missing Kansas infant whose mother was killed (all times local):
10:50 a.m.
Police in Wichita, Kansas, say the FBI has joined the search for a missing newborn whose mother was found shot to death in her home.
Police Lt. Todd Ojile said during a news conference Friday that the week-old infant’s father returned home from work Thursday to find the girl missing and her 27-year-old mother dead. He says the child is believed to be in danger.
Sgt. Nikki Woodrow says the girl’s father isn’t considered a suspect.
Authorities haven’t released the name of the parents, but they released the name of the girl, Sofia Victoria Gonzalez Abarca.
Woodrow says authorities have not issued an Amber Alert seeking the public’s help in finding Sofia because investigators haven’t identified a suspect, which is required for such alerts.
___
8:20 a.m.
Authorities are searching for a missing week-old baby after her mother was found fatally shot in Wichita, Kansas.
The Wichita Eagle (http://bit.ly/2g1YQR7 ) reports that a relative found the woman dead Thursday in her apartment. Sgt. Nikki Woodrow says the woman’s daughter, Sofia Victoria Gonzalez Abarca, is “considered missing and endangered.”
Police want to talk to anyone with a relationship to the victim. Police sent out an alert Thursday night saying the driver of a purple Cadillac who was a person of interest in the case has been found and questioned. He is not considered to be a suspect.
Woodrow says the child’s father also isn’t considered a suspect.
Police didn’t immediately return phone or email messages from The Associated Press.
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
(Photo Source: AP)
