Thousand Palms, Calif.--An Amber Alert for a 4-year-old girl who was abducted from a Thousand Palms home was canceled Monday night after the girl's mother told investigators the child was with her in Mexico, a sheriff's deputy said.
"Investigators from the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station have been able to speak with the mother in this investigation," Riverside County sheriff's Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela said. "The mother has indicated the juvenile is with her at this time in Mexico. Investigators are in the process of confirming this at this time."
Monica Ruby Morales was taken from the home at 30701 Desert Moon Drive around 9:30 a.m. A babysitter told investigators she heard a knock on the door and was met by two women who identified themselves as social workers, Valenzuela said.
The babysitter asked the suspects for identification, but the women grabbed the child, drove away in a green minivan and were believed to be heading to Mexico, she said.
Valenzuela said the child's mother was deported to Mexico about 20 days ago and may have hired the women to take her daughter. Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez told ABC7 the girl's father has legal custody of the child.
A relative told KYAV-TV Channel 12 that the mother, who was deported from Washington state, called the home shortly before the women arrived and asked if the child's father was at home.
A statewide Amber Alert was issued and sheriff's deputies notified authorities at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The alert was temporarily canceled late this afternoon because of conflicting reports that the suspect's green minivan and the suspects had been found. However, a short time later, Gutierrez said the girl was still missing and the suspects are still at large, adding that authorities were stillsearching for the green minivan.
The Amber Alert was then canceled after investigators spoke to the girl's mother, claiming the child was with her in Mexico, according to the Sheriff's Department.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information on the case was asked to call sheriff's investigators at (760) 836-1600.
