The New Mexico State Police recently revealed that they successfully apprehended a mother who had abducted her children from Texas and eluded authorities by fleeing the state. This breakthrough was made possible through the utilization of the Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) system.
At around 2:15 p.m. on November 16, NMSP uniform officers from Deming received information regarding five missing endangered children. These children were taken by their biological mother from Texas and had fled the state. A be on the lookout (BOLO) was issued for a black SAAB sedan with Texas plates.
An automatic license plate reader detected the vehicle and helped the officers narrow down the time, location, and direction in which the vehicle was last seen. The officers located the vehicle parked at the Loves travel center in Lordsburg, NM. Qwaunice Tippitt (31), the mother of the children, was identified and arrested without incident on kidnapping charges from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. Charles Jones (32) was also found with Tippitt and arrested on kidnapping charges.
After the incident, the children were brought back to the Lordsburg State Police Office. There, they were subsequently collected by officials from Texas Child Protective Services and placed back into custody.
“Cases like this one demonstrate the crucial role that technology plays in assisting the New Mexico State Police in fighting crime and ensuring public safety,” New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler emphasized. “The investments we have made in our agency over the past few years have made New Mexico a safer place, and we will persist in utilizing cutting-edge technologies to safeguard the public.”
If you need more information about this incident, please contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
