Amber Alert issued for 2 girls after mother found dead in Round Rock, Texas
ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Authorities have issued an Amber Alert as police search for two missing children after their mother was found dead in their Round Rock, Texas home, CBS affiliate KEYE-TV reports. Police have identified Terry Allen Miles, 44, as a person of interest in the death of Tonya Bates and say he may be connected to the abduction of her daughters, the station reports.
Police responded to a welfare check on Sunday and found a deceased woman inside the residence and the girls missing. Miles is reportedly Bates' roommate.
It's not clear how Bates died. Police are calling her death suspicious.
The children were identified as 14-year-old Lilianais Victoria Cake Griffith and 7-year-old Luluvioletta Bandera-magret. Griffith is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 100 pounds. She has brown eyes and wears a right nose stud with braces. Bandera-magret is 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 75 pounds. She has curly brown hair and brown eyes.
"Both are associated with a person of interest in the suspicious death investigation," Round Rock police said in a statement.
Police said Miles was last heard from in Round Rock on Saturday. Miles is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has hazel eyes, wears glasses and has a beard. It's not clear what the relationship between Miles and the children is.
Police say Miles drives a gray 2017 Hyundai Accent with Texas license plate JGH-9845. They said there's a white sticker on the upper-right hand corner of the vehicle. There is also a white sticker on the upper right hand corner of the rear window. Police provided CBS affiliate KHOU-TV with an image of Miles' vehicle.
James Reid, a resident who lives nearby, said he believes Miles lived with the woman who was found dead.
"Usually you hear it, and it's somewhere else, and I'm glad that wasn't me, and I was nowhere near it, but this happened next door. I was just glad none of my kids or my wife was here," Reid told KEYE-TV. "If they were here, they were in the house. Most of the time they were gone."
Reid said he hopes the girls are safe. "I don't want them to get hurt. Like I said, I got kids, and I wouldn't want that to happen to mine."
Round Rock police are encouraging the public to call (512) 218-5516 if they have any information in the case.