LORDSBURG, New Mexico – A Texas woman accused of kidnapping her five children and fleeing the state was arrested in New Mexico over the weekend, according to a post on the New Mexico State Police Facebook page.
Qwaunice Tippitt, 31, and Charles Jones, 32, were arrested Saturday in Lordsburg, New Mexico, after the Texas license plates on their vehicle triggered an alert when the state’s Automatic License Plate Recognition system read them.
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The license plate was included in an alert notice to law enforcement. It described the vehicle as a black Saab sedan in which Tippitt was reportedly traveling.
New Mexico State Police in Deming were briefed that the vehicle had crossed the state line. They began narrowing down the time, location, and direction the vehicle was last seen.
Police pinpointed Tippitt’s location and found the parked Saab around 2 p.m. Saturday at the Love’s Travel Stop in Lordsburg, about 60 miles from Deming.
Tippitt and Jones were taken into custody and face kidnapping charges.
Tippitt’s five children were taken to the Lordsburg State Police Office. Representatives with Texas Child Protective Services took custody of the children, according to officials.
There is no word yet on whether extradition steps have begun to return Tippitt and Jones to Bexar County.