MARYSVILLE, Wash. — The three children wanted in connection with an Amber Alert have been found, authorities say. Their parents, Curtis Drakeford and Ashley Todd, have been taken into police custody by the Montana State Patrol.
Earlier in the day, Marysville police said the three children -- ages 6, 8 and 9 -- were believed to be in western Montana with their parents, who took them to keep the children from CPS custody.
Detectives said the family traveled into the City of Deer Lodge, Montana, as late as 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday and believed they were heading eastbound on Interstate 90.
The Amber Alert was issued Tuesday night after CPS officials became concerned that the children were in danger because of a history of domestic violence between the parents. Both parents have mutual restraining orders which have been served.
Drakeford was charged in 2010 with hitting the children with his fists and molesting children from another relationship. He also has an assault charge against him from an incident in Everett in January and a court order that forbids him from being around the children.
Todd was sentenced to a year in jail in September for violation of a no contact order, but it's unclear if she served any of the sentence. Her criminal record also includes theft and assault.
Authorities said CPS received a call from someone who reported the mother said she and the father were taking the children to South Carolina, in violation of a CPS order.
Police said they have family in South Carolina, and they also have friends and family in Washington state.
Todd's Facebook profile says her current city is Seattle but her hometown is Charleston, South Carolina. On March 14, Todd wrote she was so excited to get her kids back and said it's important to remember not to take things for granted.
CPS confirmed Todd was home in Marysville with her children at 10 p.m. on Monday at the Westwood Crossing Apartments in the 1300 block of Cedar Street where they live.
Marysville police said the children are dependents of the state.
"They were placed with the biological mother on a temporary basis as part of a program in which the state retains custody of the children who are reintroduced to the home on a temporary trial placement in which strict conditions must be met by the parent," police said in a news release. "In this case the children were temporarily placed in the home under the condition the biological father was not present at any time. Child Protective Services developed information the father was in the home and were in the process of revoking the trial placement when the parents fled with the children."
KIRO
