Girl who was subject of Amber Alert found; suspect in custody

TRINITY COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) - An 8-year-old girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert in Trinity County has been found.

The DPS website states Haven Barker has been found. A suspect is in custody, according to a post from the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office at about 12 p.m. Thursday.

In a sound statement made Thursday night, Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said the child was found safe and unharmed.

The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office conducted a welfare check on Mar. 6 after a caller stated they knew the child was going through difficulty, and Wallace said the child herself made an outcry to CPS in regards to illegal activity going on in the house where she stayed.

Wallace said the parents had attempted to withdraw the girl from school over the phone, which also raised the school’s concern. Although the school denied the request, Wallace said the girl had not been back to classes since the outcry was made.

Officials contacted family members who said the parents had also tried to “pawn the child off” on them as well, Wallace said. When relatives refused, the parents allegedly dumped the child’s belongings on a driveway in San Jacinto County, before disappearing with the child.

The sheriff’s office then obtained a search warrant and found the rest of the child’s belongings were still in the Trinity County home, but the adults’ belongings had been packed and moved, Wallace stated.

At that point, an Amber Alert was issued, and the child was spotted in Colorado, where her mother has family, Wallace said. The mother reportedly showed up at the relatives’ home unexpectedly but then disappeared again. Colorado officers were able to find a related car at a Super 8 near Garden of the Gods Wednesday night.

Colorado authorities are working with Texas authorities to gather more information about the car.

Wallace said the child was not harmed, but the mother’s boyfriend, Charles Estep, 50, has been arrested on a parole violation.

The child has been returned to her mother because neither Texas nor Colorado CPS have found evidence of immediate danger at this time, Wallace said. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has said the two are headed back to Texas.

However, investigation is still ongoing.

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