Amber Alert Continues For 2 Missing North Texas Children
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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A North Texas father, questioned by police after Child Protective Services issued an Amber Alert for his two children, says his kids are fine.
Despite the assertions of Cliff King, police have not discontinued the search for six-year-old Deondre King and his five-year-old sister Lulamae Ann King. Both of the children are believed to be in Oklahoma with Cristal Taylor. King says he and Taylor have been a couple for nearly 10 years and she is the children's mother.
King told CBS 11 News reporter Elizabeth Dinh, Taylor took the children that their grandmother's home in Oklahoma. King went to the CPS office in Dallas Monday morning and said Taylor would soon be returning to North Texas to also speak with CPS officials. But King said he's not willing to turn over custody of the kids.
Once at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services office, King said he tried to straighten things out and explain why he's a good parent, but workers referred him to the CPS office in Hill County.
After hearing about King's claims that his children are safe, Hill County Sheriff Wes Collins said that as a parent he understands the frustration the father is going through, but that both he and Taylor "need to go over the correct process."
Dallas police took King in for questioning late Sunday night, but after speaking with him allowed him to leave early Monday morning.
This whole situation began last Thursday in the town of Whitney – that's when Hill County deputies served a narcotics search warrant at a home. Three people were arrested as a result of the search. King said his family rents a home on the same property, but claims they did nothing wrong.
"I ain't did nothing but try to protect my family. If I'm wrong for trying to keep my kids from somewhere where I don't know where they gonna be or who they gonna be put with, I guess I'll be wrong for that," he said.
Deondre and Lulamae wound up in the temporary care of a relative. Authorities say the family members wouldn't cooperate when Child Protective Services later went to take proactive custody of the children.
Officials had earlier released the description of a vehicle Taylor and the children were said to be traveling in, but officers found it dumped in Dallas. There's no word on what mode of transportation Taylor may be using now.
When the Amber Alert was issued, officials said they believed the children to be in "grave or immediate danger."
Cristal Taylor is a white female, standing 5'4" and weighing 109 pounds. The 27-year-old has brown hair and hazel eyes.
Anyone with information about Taylor or Deondre or Lulamae King are asked to contact the Hill County Sheriff's Office at 254-582-5313 or call 911.
Clifford King believes he and his family are being unfairly characterized. "I've talked to the police. I've done nothing wrong," he emphasized outside a relatives South Dallas home Monday morning.
King's passion is tied to his frustration over an investigation regarding two his children. Deondre and LulaMae King are named in an emergency Amber Alert issued Sunday.
"We've done nothing wrong. My wife took the kids to her mother's house in Oklahoma," King said.
Hill County Sheriff Wes Collins said late Monday authorities in Oklahoma contacted the children's grandmother, yet the children were not found.
Collins says he understands King may be emotional, but the children's whereabouts must be determined. "There's a process, and they're (the parents) are just delaying that process," Collins said.
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