Local Amber Alert Issued for Three Missing Children
By: Danielle Todesco
Updated: October 27, 2008
Police issue a local amber alert for three missing children believed to be in danger.
"He said he'd have them back by sunday night...my sister stayed up all night crying waiting for them."
41-year-old Kenneth Michael Wilcox is said to be a family friend of the children's parents. Friday, those parents agreed to let their two kids, 8-year-old Angel Contreras, and 11-year-old Jasmine Bazan and their friend 14-year-old Lashawnda Theriac go with Wilcox and his son to Six Flags in Arlington. After he didn't return the kids Sunday night, the parents were frantic. Police have found that Wilcox dropped off his son in Amarillo with his ex-wife and continued East.
"None of the children are related to the suspect."
Captain Greg Stevens with LPD says they do consider the kids to be in danger. While they can't release specifics about what makes Wilcox a threat, witnesses tell us his ex-wife left him because he molested her daughter.
"He is not a registered sex offender but again all I can answer to that is there's lots of issues that I'm not at liberty to discuss because of legal constraints and I just need to reiterate that based upon the information that we've got so far, we believe the children to be in danger and we've applied for an amber alert."
Police say Wilcox did make it to Arlington, but continued traveling. He does have an Arkansas driver's license and police say he could have traveled into Lousiana.
A nationwide Amber Alert was not granted by Austin officials because the children at first went willingly with the suspect. But police are working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited children as well as officials in Louisiana and Arkansas to locate Wilcox and the children.
