RUSK, Texas — The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) has released more information after two children who were at the center of an AMBER Alert were found safe in Kilgore.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, before being located, a 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy were last seen around 1:15 p.m. on Monday in Rusk. Officials say the children were with Jesse Ray Schmidt, 32, when they were found.
Around 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 30, the CCSO received a call from the mother of the children saying she left her kids with Schmidt around 1:15 p.m. and when he got back home, around 4:30 p.m., Schmidt, the children and numerous firearms were missing.
Around midnight on Aug. 31, officials say Schmidt's cell phone was pinged in the Kilgore area. After not being able to locate Schmidt or the kids, an AMBER Alert was issued around 5 a.m.
The Texas Rangers, FBI and U.S. Marshals were called in to assist in the search.
Around 10:35 a.m., Kilgore police found Schmidt and the kids outside the Motel in Kilgore.
Schmidt was arrested for kidnapping and and handed a $500,000 bond. He was then taken to the Cherokee County Jail. The CCSO says the case is still active pending further investigation and additional charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child and aggravated kidnapping were added.
Authorities say the children were released into CPS custody.
This is a developing story. CBS19 will update this article as more information becomes available.
