Using the Automatic License Plate Recognition system, New Mexico State Police were able to arrest a mother who had kidnapped her children from Texas and fled the state.
Source: New Mexico State Police (via Facebook)
Photo: Screenshot Courtesy KRQE
On November 16 at approximately 2:15 p.m., NMSP uniform officers from Deming were given information about 5 missing endangered children that were taken by their biological mother from Texas and had fled the state. A be on the lookout (BOLO) was given for a black SAAB sedan with Texas plates.
An automatic license plate reader picked up the vehicle and assisted officers in narrowing down the time, location and direction the vehicle was last seen. Officers found the vehicle parked at the Loves travel center in Lordsburg, NM. The mother of the children was identified as Qwaunice Tippitt (31). She was arrested on kidnapping charges out of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and was taken into custody without incident. Charles Jones (32) was found with Tippitt and was also arrested on kidnapping charges.
The children were taken back to the Lordsburg State Police Office where they were then picked up and taken back into custody by representatives from Texas Child Protective Services.
“Cases like this one highlight the critical importance technology is playing in helping New Mexico State Police combat crime and protect the public,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler. “New Mexico is safer as a result of the investments made in our agency over the past several years and we will continue to use innovative technologies to protect the public.”
Related article: New Mexico State Police implement advanced license plate reading cameras (KRQE, Albuquerque)
