Missing infant found after homicide suspect wanted by FBI arrested in Texas
In a collaborative effort, Abilene police arrested a wanted man on Sunday and located a missing infant.
ABILENE — A man suspected of double murder in New Mexico was arrested Monday in Abilene after the FBI notified police of his presence in the area.
Alek Isaiah Collins, 26, of Houston was wanted in connection with a slew of charges in New Mexico and the alleged abduction of a 10-month-old girl.
'Other charges are pending'
The FBI notified Abilene police on Sunday that "a suspect wanted in Clovis, New Mexico, for the Homicide of two individuals, injuring a 5-year-old, and abducting an infant may be in Abilene," according to a recent Abilene police news release.
Police officers then located a home in northern Abilene "where the suspect was reportedly staying."
At approximately 4:30 a.m. Monday, "narcotic agents set up surveillance on the home, and the subject was eventually taken into custody without incident."
The 10-month-old girl who Collins is suspected of abducting was taken into protective custody and evaluated by medical personnel.
Collins was being held Tuesday without bail at the Taylor County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery and assault on a peace officer, according to online jail records.
He has a U.S. Marshals Service hold placed on him in connection with the New Mexico murders and kidnapping charges.
"Other charges are pending," according to Abilene police.
Pending charges include "two open counts of first-degree murder, a first-degree kidnapping charge as well as two counts of child abuse," according to New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney Quentin Ray, who spoke at a recent news conference.
Ray noted that Collins could face federal charges as well.
At this time, police do not believe Collins and the victims are related.
They are "still following leads about the suspect and his motives on this heinous crime," said Clovis Deputy Police Chief Trevor Thron, who spoke at the same news conference as Ray.
Double homicide?
"The investigation remains active," Thron said.
According to a Clovis police news release, the Clovis Police Department responded to "a 911 call from a person who believed they found two dead females at Ned Houk Park" just before 4:30 p.m. Friday.
The park is 5 miles north of Clovis.
When officers arrived, they found "two female victims, with apparent gunshot wounds, laying on the ground" near a minivan, according to the news release.
The victims were identified as Taryn Allen and Samantha Cisneros. Both women were 23, and both were from Texico, New Mexico.
A young girl, whose name wasn't released, was also found "on the ground suffering from an injury to her head," according to the news release.
Officers subsequently began giving life-saving measures to the young child.
When Clovis emergency services medics arrived, they took the child to the Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis. She was later transferred to a Lubbock-area hospital, according to the press release.
The 5-year-old girl was still recovering at the hospital and may be released back to her family soon, according to a recent news conference held by the Clovis Police Department.
An Amber Alert issued
When Clovis police officers began their investigation, they discovered an infant car seat, stroller and small baby bottle left at the scene.
Officers became concerned that there was "an infant child with the female victims when this incident happened," according to a media release. They immediately began to search for the infant.
Investigators learned, through family interviews, that Samantha Cisneros was the mother of the young child found at the scene and of a 10-month-old child, Eleia Maria Torres.
As a result, investigators believed Torres had been abducted by Collins and was in immediate danger. An Amber Alert was issued at that time for Torres.
She was found three days later, on Monday, in Abilene.
Roy Rice, chief of Clovis police, said at a news conference Monday that Eleia Maria was safe and was "at a medical facility being treated."
As of Tuesday morning, she had not yet been reunited with her family.
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