HANFORD, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — An Amber Alert is in place for two missing children after their mother was found dead in Hanford on Tuesday.
The Kings County Sheriff’s Office says the woman’s daughters, two-year-old Alana and three-year-old Arya, were taken from the home by their father, 23-year-old Jonathan Alexis Maldonado-Cruz.
Maldonado-Cruz is suspected of shooting and killing 22-year-old Madeline Rose Cuevas in a home near Fourth Place and Orchard Drive.
Joel Cuevas, Madeline’s father, called 911 when he hadn’t heard from his daughter, who lives down the street from him.
“I called authorities and then kicked the door in, and I found my daughter dead,” Joel recalled.
Investigators say Maldonado-Cruz left the home around 1 am in a grey-colored 2020 Hyundai Elantra with the California license plate 8LZD084.
The Kings County Sheriff’s Office believes that Maldonado-Cruz could be in Mexico.
Deputies say the FBI and Mexican authorities are helping track him down.
As the investigation continues, Joel is desperately pleading with Maldonado-Cruz to return the girls home safely.
He says Madeline worked as a supervisor at Costco and the young mother recently bought a home.
Joel also shared that Madeline and Maldonado-Cruz met as children and attended the same schools growing up.
He says that Madeline would have been 23 on Valentine’s Day.
Now, instead of a birthday, the family is left planning a funeral for Madeline.
Alerts about the missing children were issued on social media and to news outlets Tuesday evening, but a push alert was not sent out to phones until late Wednesday morning.
California Highway Patrol Officer Joseph Bianchi couldn’t speak to this case but says Amber Alerts are only issued under certain circumstances.
CHP gets involved when they are asked by the primary investigating agency.
Then, they use their reach across the state to get that information to the public.
Maldonado-Cruz is described as 5-foot-9, 215 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Authorities describe Arya as three feet tall, 25 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.
Alana is described as 2-foot-5, 20 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.
Investigators say Maldonado-Cruz is considered armed and dangerous as the gun used in the shooting is missing.
Anyone with information about Maldonado-Cruz’s whereabouts is asked to call the Kings County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 852-2720.
You can also provide information anonymously by calling (559) 852-4554.
