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Baby found alive after Amber Alert issued, mom found dead in NM park; suspect in custody

​​​​​​​View Date:2024-12-24 02:02:59

Authorities have found a 10-month-old baby girl from New Mexico after an Amber Alert was issued. The baby's mother and another woman were found killed and her sister was found injured in a park last week.

Police have taken a suspect into custody in connection to the case. 

The girl, Eleia Maria Torres, was reported missing Friday out of Clovis, New Mexico, about three hours east of Albuquerque. On Monday morning, the Clovis Police Department announced she was found. 

“Baby Eleia has been taken to a local area hospital as a precautionary measure,” Clovis police said in a statement on Facebook.

Baby found safe:Ex-officer wanted for 2 murders found dead in standoff, child found safe after Amber Alert

Two women were found dead in a New Mexico Park

The investigation into her disappearance and her mother’s death began just before 4:30 p.m. Friday when someone called the Clovis Police Department and said they had found the bodies of two women at Ned Houk Park, a city park located five miles north of Clovis. 

Officers showed up and found two women with gunshot wounds on the ground next to a silver Dodge minivan. A girl was also found on the ground with a head injury. Officers began helping the child, who EMS eventually took to Plains Regional Medical Center. The girl was later transferred to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas.

Officers also found an infant car seat, an infant stroller and a small baby bottle at the scene, leading them to believe there was an infant with the victims when they died. They searched for the infant and eventually identified the deceased women at the scene as Samantha Cisneros, 23, and Taryn Allen, also 23, both from Texico, New Mexico.

The 9th Judicial Major Crime Unit took over the investigation and interviewed family members, who told them Cisneros is the mother of both the girl found at the scene with a head injury and 10-month-old Eleia Maria Torres, who was nowhere to be found.

“Investigators believe Eleia Maria Torres has been abducted by the perpetrator of this crime and is in immediate danger,” Clovis police said Friday. “An Amber Alert was issued for Eleia Maria Torres.”

USA TODAY contacted Clovis police, the FBI and the Ninth Judicial District Attorney to ask about the charges the suspect will face and the medical condition of both children involved. 

Authorities did not immediately respond but Clovis PD referred to the case as a double homicide and child abduction in an earlier press release.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her at[email protected].

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