Authorities have issued an Amber Alert for two young girls following the tragic death of their mother in Hanford on Tuesday.
Around 4 p.m., deputies responded to a home near Fourth Place and Orchard Drive, where they discovered 22-year-old Madeline Rose Cuevas dead from an apparent gunshot wound. The Kings County Sheriff’s Office has identified Cuevas, who would have turned 23 on Valentine’s Day.
Investigators believe Cuevas’s two daughters—two-year-old Alana and three-year-old Arya—were taken by their father, 23-year-old Jonathan Alexis Maldonado-Cruz. Maldonado-Cruz is suspected of being responsible for the shooting death of Cuevas.
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According to authorities, Maldonado-Cruz left the home early Tuesday morning, around 1 a.m., in a grey 2020 Hyundai Elantra with California license plate 8LZD084.
Maldonado-Cruz, who is described as 5’9″ and 215 pounds with black hair and eyes, is believed to be in possession of a firearm, which has not been recovered. The FBI and Mexican authorities are currently assisting in the search, as investigators suspect he may have crossed into Mexico.
The missing children are described as follows:
- Arya, 3 years old, 3′ tall, weighing 25 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.
- Alana, 2 years old, 2’5″ tall, weighing 20 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.
Authorities have warned that Maldonado-Cruz is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on his whereabouts or the missing children is urged to contact the Kings County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 852-2720 or provide anonymous tips at (559) 852-4554.
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