Fort Worth Toddler At Center Of Amber Alert Found Safe, Father Taken Into Custody
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Fort Worth police cancelled an Amber Alert after an abducted 11-month-old girl was found safe in New Mexico and her father was taken into custody.
After a morning press conference pleading for information, Fort Worth Chief of Police Neil Noakes made the announcement about little Harmony Rodriguez on Twitter. Officials also said the baby would soon be reunited with her mother and that her father, 26-year-old Lancelot Dawkins, was taken into custody and would face be facing 'numerous charges'.
Harmony Rodriguez is almost 11 months old and officials issued an Amber Alert around 2:30 a.m. believing she was in danger. Before being found safe, the toddler had been last seen on February 24 at an apartment complex in the 13500 block of Little River Road, in the far north part of the city near Highway 170
During an afternoon press conference police said Harmony was taken after Dawkins went to his ex-girlfriend's apartment, put his hand over the peephole, knocked on the door and identified himself as a police officer. Police said Dawkins had just been released from the Tarrant County jail on a domestic violence charge when snatched Harmony after forcing his way into the apartment and choking the baby's mother until she passed out.
Dawkins is also accused of strangling Harmony's mother in a previous domestic violence case.
"We're asking for the public to look at these pictures. Look at this beautiful, 11-month-old baby girl, completely innocent who was drawn into something she had nothing to do with," Chief Noakes said before the baby was found. "This is priority number one at the Fort Worth PD right now. Any crime we take seriously, but when you kidnap a child, an infant, we take it personally."
Dawkins had been booked into the Tarrant County Jail on February 23 but was released on a $3,500 bond after less than 24 hours. When Harmony was reported abducted, Fort Worth police also took reports against him for violating a protective order, burglary, and impersonating a public servant.
Harmony was believed to have been traveling with Dawkins in a white Jeep Wrangler that has black trim and black steps. Police did not say if the vehicle was located when the baby was located and have not yet given information on exactly where in New Mexico she and the suspect were found.
