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Mother May Have Abducted 3 Children To Mexico, Police Say

VAN NUYS (CBSLA.com) – Three children were allegedly abducted by their mother from the Van Nuys home of her ex-husband and investigators fear she may have taken the youngsters to Mexico, police said Friday.

Crystal Juarez, 28, took the children, without permission from their father, about 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

"The father has full custody of the children, while Crystal has authorized visitation on the weekends," according to an LAPD statement. "Crystal has family in Tijuana, Mexico and may have taken the children there."

Crystal Juarez is Hispanic, 5-foot-6, weighs 180 pounds and has a tattoo of the words "Humphrey Park" on the back of her neck.

The missing children were identified as:

-- Gabriel Vargas, 10, who is 4 feet tall, weighs 80 pounds and was wearing a black shirt and black shorts;

-- Ruby Vargas, 7, who is 3-foot-6, weighs 60 pounds and was wearing a blue blouse, jeans and Spider-man shoes; and

-- Lily Vargas, 6, who is 3-foot-4, weighs 50 pounds and was wearing a white shirt, zebra print pants and pink shoes.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the children or their mother was urged to call Van Nuys Division Detective Desk at (818) 374-0040.

After-hours or weekend calls should be directed to 877-LAPD-247 and anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.

(©2017 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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