Fitchburg Police said they have found a missing mother and her five children in Whitney, Texas. Both Ruth Encarnacion and Isael Rivera have been taken into custody.
Missing since early March
The children, a 10-year-old boy, a 9-year-old boy, a 5-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 9-month-old baby boy are safe and in custody of Texas Child Protective Services.
Encarnacion was reported missing on March 3. The family was in the Department of Children and Families’ system, which reported the children missing on March 5. The children lived with Encarnacion and Rivera.
Fitchburg community turned out to help
Encarnacion’s family said they were worried about her safety before she was found. The Fitchburg community was hoping she and the children would be found safe and shared fliers online to spread the word about the missing family.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but all I know is that we just have to get them back,” said Luis Melendez of Fitchburg when news of the family’s disappearance broke. “If your kids were missing, how do you think you would act? You would act the same way and that’s the way I would act if my kids were missing, I would definitely go find them.”
AMBER Alert not issued
Police decided at the time not to issue an AMBER Alert because the alerts are not intended for children believed to be involved in a parental kidnapping. AMBER Alerts are issued for children believed to be in imminent danger…