Seven Calif. kids missing five days found safe

Updated 4:45 a.m. EST

FRESNO, Calif. An FBI task force located seven children unharmed Thursday who had been missing since Saturday from their home in Fresno, police said.

The children, ages 5 to 12, were found with their father at his home in Sacramento, Fresno police Sgt. Jaime Rios said.

Rios told the Fresno Bee they were in good spirits.

The four boys and three girls were last seen playing around their apartment, reports CBS Fresno affiliate KGPE-TV.

"We're happy to be hearing good news and not bad news, we don't want to hear it at all," neighbor, Steven Moungvieng told KGPE.

Police had said earlier that they had been unable to contact the father, Xa Yang, who had been estranged from his family for three years.

The father was not detained. Rios said Fresno and Sacramento police departments will investigate to determine if a crime was committed. KGPE says police told it before the children were locatedthat there are no child custody documents on file, and Xa is legally allowed to have the kids.

The children were taken from their Fresno home when their mother and stepfather left them alone to go to a grocery store Saturday evening. The mother and stepfather told police when they returned from the store the children, along with their clothes in the home, were gone.

Investigators said they found no signs of forced entry. They didn't believe the children were in any danger and didn't issue an Amber Alert.

The children are: Chee Nou Yang, 12; Cha Meng Yang, 11; Zia Yang, 10; Chue Feng Yang, 8; Zang Yang, 7; Tria Yang, 6; and Tou Ger Yang, 5.

[Sydonia56]

The FBI got involved because 7 children were missing. They investigated and found them with their father. VO12857 it maybe alright in other cultures to leave a 4 year in charge but that doesn't make it right. Too many times non custodial parents can't afford child support. Mine could and did, but always had an excuse as to why he couldn't spend time with ours, I would have gladly given up the child support for him to spend time with our son. Sometimes quality time out weighs the all mighty dollar. I do agree that just because one parent is given custody it doesn't mean the other parent is a bad person. Glad they were found safe, children love their parents and are all to often used against the other parent because they are the ones that haven't grown up themselves and the children suffer for it. Adult bickering does more harm then anything else. I've known a lot of people who feel it is better for the children to have limited visitation than to put them through the constant drama and being told all the bad things about the other parent. Grow up and do what is best for the children. So you don't like your ex big deal, I'm sure they don't like you either ~ but what example are you showing your kids? They love their parents, no matter what.

[bjs1951]

how STUPID is the mother for leaving a 12 yr old to take care of 6 kids
I don't care how well behaved the kids are 12 yrs old is TOO YOUNG to be
left in charge of so many kids.

[VO142857]

In many cultures it's OK to leave 4-years-old home alone.

[lillyhorton]

It would be difficult to round up 7 kids without a big scene drawing attention from neighbors.

[cpmp08]

It's not difficult, I have 6 kids (all grown now), we never had any problem "rounding them up"

[GeorgeJones7]

Of course it gets national attention. The media was hoping for a newsworty turn for the worse, that the kids end up dead, that the father was a mentally disturbed gun nut, that "the system" failed, that everyone is getting sued, that more regulation is needed to protect your kids from the same thing... and over, and over and over. In reality, it was just a law abiding dad who was likely getting screwed around with by a selfish mother who was using the kids against him, which is far more common of an occurrence than our politically correct society wants to think.

[lillyhorton]

He probably was evading child support don't you think?

[lillyhorton]

It wasn't that long ago when men got everything in the divorce. Women lost custody. Child support laws are fairly new. My father frequently skipped paying. He was an electrical engineer back in the 60's earning over 40 grand a year. You should think about this. Men have been living it up for centuries but women have struggled for equality or more. Who wouldn't want what men had back in the 1950's? Who wouldn't want to come home after a hard day at work to a clean house and hot supper? Sharing is hard for both men and women.

[oldoc44]

Every time kids , or anyone else, "disappears", we're tuned up to call it foul play nowadays. Like most of the list of all those "missing" kids, in all lillihood they're with a non-custodial parent or something equally non-threatening. Like that news anchorwoman who "vanished" and finally came home the other day, so much of this is hype for the media and others who prifit from such matters!

[VA_Jill]

Non-custodial parents are not necessarily non-threatening. There have been plenty of cases to prove that.

[VO142857]

VA_Jill, custodian parents can do jus as many bad things.

[BIGPISTOLA]

So, what was the crime, who made the charge, and why was the FBI involved, if there was no crime? Something fishy here.