Texas girl, 6, found safe in La. after Amber Alert; suspect in custody
SABINE PARISH, La. -- A missing Texas girl who had been the subject of an Amber Alert Monday has been found safe in Louisiana, and her suspected kidnapper is in custody, reports CBS affiliate KSLA.
Alexis "Lexi" Lynn Johnson, 6, was found in Sabine Parish in western Louisiana around 5 p.m. Monday, about 24 hours after she vanished from her mother's Houston home. Her mother's ex-boyfriend, suspected of abducting her, is in custody in Sabine Parish, reports the station.
Police say the man, Harvey Eugene York Jr., was visiting the girl's mother at her downtown Houston home around 5 p.m. Sunday when the two got in an argument and he was asked to leave, reported CBS affiliate KHOU. York was reportedly seen driving off with the child in the car.
He is not the child's father, reports the station. Sabine Parish officials tell KSLA he raised the child and that he broke up with the child's mother a few months ago.
York is from Louisiana, and the search centered near Zwolle, outside Shreveport, when his mother reported seeing the pair at her home there and his truck was found abandoned nearby.
Sabine Parish authorities say the pair was dropped off at York's mother's house, reports the station. The mother reportedly called the sheriff's office and York took the girl into the woods.
"It's been a long day, sure has," Sabine Parish Sheriff Ronny Richardson told the station. "All we were worried about was getting her out of the woods, all this manpower was worth it to rescue her."
York eventually turned himself over to deputies, Richardson said.
The child's mother told the station the she "has a few scratches" but is okay.
Several agencies including Louisiana State Police, Sabine Parish Sheriff's Office and the FBI participated in the search.
York is expected to be extradited back to Texas to face kidnapping charges. It's not clear whether he'll face charges in Louisiana.