A Lake Elsinore man suspected of killing his girlfriend and abducting their 2-year-old son was taken into custody in Las Vegas. Christine Kim reports for the NBC4 News on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
Law enforcement agencies around Southern California on Tuesday found a Lake Elsinore 2-year-old safe, after the young boy was abducted by his father. The father, accused of killing the child's mother, is in custody.
An Amber Alert was issued Monday in connection with the abduction of the two-year-old in Lake Elsinore, by his father, Celestine Stoot Jr.
The child was last seen in Lake Elsinore on Sunday, according to the alert, issued by the California Highway Patrol on behalf of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
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Photos of the child and man were released by authorities. Freeway signs also displayed the Amber Alert information Tuesday morning.
The elder Stoot is a wanted homicide suspect, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said. On Tuesday, the department confirmed he is wanted in the slaying of the boy's 34-year-old mother on Monday.
The mother, identified as 43-year-old Natasha Denise Barlow of San Jacinto, was found dead Monday. According to sheriff's Sgt. Deanna Pecoraro, the attack happened sometime Monday afternoon at a residence in the 17000 block of Hayes Avenue in Lake Elsinore.
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Details about the killing were not immediately available. Stoot is in custody, according to the CHP.
