Missing children from Indianapolis located after standoff in Texas

PEARSALL, Texas — A multi-agency standoff in Pearsall, Texas, tied to a Silver Alert out of Indianapolis involving three children and their noncustodial parents has ended.

A Silver Alert was issued for the three toddlers last Friday.

The three children were last seen with their biological parents, who have now been detained by police in Texas.

Pearsall, Texas Sheriff Flores told WRTV Affiliate KSAT on Tuesday evening that the department received a call from the Texas Department of Public Safety about a cellphone ping in Pearsall concerning the alert.

DPS said a ping from a family member’s cellphone alerted the department to a potential location. Flores said DPS asked police to search the area around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Police located the family’s vehicle in the 1600 block of West Comal Street and notified DPS and FBI as they set up surveillance, Flores said. As a precaution, the motel was evacuated.

The father of the children attempted to leave the motel around 3 p.m. When police tried to pull him over, he ran, and a short pursuit ensued, Flores said.

The man returned to the motel and entered their room, Flores said.

Flores said that things stayed largely peaceful, and no threats were made.

"I think it just really speaks to our level of teamwork and communication," Flores said. "The federal agencies that were on scene were amazing. To be able to assist them in any way possible, whether it was with our resources we had on hand or our manpower, we were just happy that we were able to play a role in this successful case."

*The following from previous reporting*

Court documents detail new filings

Court documents filed on Tuesday revealed IMPD was called to Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que on Vincennes Road on July 4 around 1 p.m. for an abduction.

According to the documents, the children's grandfather, who has custody of the kids, had a DCS approved visit with the biological parents at the restaurant.

Willie Terrell and Jessika Officer

However, when the grandfather returned from using the bathroom at the restaurant, he discovered the children and the parents were gone. He told police the parents left in a white minivan.

During the investigation, police learned that the children were removed from their parents custody due to medical neglect in October 2023. The kids required daily medications that had been neglected and they were malnourished in the past when in the parent's custody.

After issuing the Silver Alert, detectives obtained phone numbers from the parents from DCS. They requested "exigent pings" on the cell phones and pings were reported in Louisville and Louisiana.

On Monday, July 8, a DCS case manager told police that she spoke with the father and his therapist on a three-way call.

During the call, the father reportedly told his therapist that the children were "okay" and that he was 288 miles away from Mexico. He also stated that he wanted the FBI to investigate why his children kept being taken away from him.

Detectives were able to get another ping from the father's phone on Monday, July 9. This ping was located in Pearsall, Texas; just 101 miles from the Mexico Border.

At this time, police say they do not know where the family is but finding them is their top priority.

The children are considered to be in danger and are still without their required medications.

Anyone with information is asked to contact IMPD at 317-327-6541 or 911.