PEARSALL, Texas – A man and a woman who barricaded themselves with three children during an hours-long standoff at a Pearsall motel have been identified.
Willie Frank Terrell, 50, and Jessika Terrell, 31, were arrested and taken to the Frio County Jail, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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The Frio County Sheriff’s Office said Jessika Terrell is facing a charge of interference with child custody, and Willie Frank Terrell is facing charges of evading arrest with a motor vehicle and interference with child custody. There are pending charges in Indianapolis.
DPS is working to reunite their three children, ages 1, 3 and 4, with family.
According to state police, the two adults and the children were the subject of a Silver Alert out of Indiana.
The alert was issued on July 5. According to criteria for Indiana, a Silver Alert accounts for a “missing endangered adult, child or high-risk missing person.”
Pearsall police Chief Daniel Flores told KSAT on Tuesday evening that the department received a call from DPS about a cellphone ping in Pearsall concerning the alert.
Police located the family’s white van in the 1600 block of West Comal Street and notified DPS and FBI as they set up surveillance, Flores said. As a precaution, the motel was evacuated.
Willie Terrell attempted to leave the motel around 3 p.m. When police tried to pull him over, he ran, and a short pursuit ensued, Flores said.
DPS said the suspects barricaded themselves and the children in their room at the Rio Frio Motel, located on Comal Street just off Interstate 35.
Shortly before 10:15 p.m., a DPS spokesperson said that two adults and three children peacefully surrendered to officials on the scene.
The adults and children were evaluated by medical personnel.
Silver Alert was issued on July 5 in Indiana
According to WRTV, Indianapolis’ ABC affiliate, the children were allegedly taken by their noncustodial parents after a Department of Child’s Services meeting with the children’s grandfather.
The meeting was said to have occurred on July 4 at a restaurant in Indianapolis. When the grandfather got up to use the bathroom, the parents took the children, the report said.
The alert was canceled on Wednesday.
