NMSP finds 5 kidnapped children from Texas using license plate reader

DEMING, NM (KFOX14/CBS4) — New Mexico State Police successfully located and rescued five children kidnapped from Texas after an automatic license plate reader identified the vehicle they were traveling in.

Around 2:15 p.m. on November 16, officers in Deming received information about missing endangered children who had been taken by their biological mother, 31-year-old Qwaunice Tippitt from Texas.

A caution warning has been issued for a black SAAB sedan with Texas license plates.

The automatic license plate reader detected the vehicle, helping officers determine its last known location and direction.

Officers found the car parked at Loves Travel Center in Lordsburg, NM

Tippitt was arrested by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office on kidnapping charges and taken into custody without incident.

Charles Jones, 32, who was with Tippitt, was also arrested on kidnapping charges.

The children were brought to the Lordsburg State Marshal’s Office, where Texas Child Protective Services representatives took them back into custody.

Cases like this highlight the critical importance technology plays in helping New Mexico State Police fight crime and protect the public,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler. “New Mexico is safer as a result of investments in our facility. We will continue to use innovative technologies to protect the public over the past several years.

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