Kansas City, MO - United States Marshal Mark S. James announced today the recovery of 3 abducted children from Saline County in Texas.
In August 2017 Shawn Rodriguez was alleged to have taken her 3 young children, all under the age of 7 at the time, and fled Saline County with an associate, possibly headed to California. In 2019 the children’s father was granted full custody and they were officially listed by local authorities as missing in July of 2019. On August 6, 2019 a warrant for Shawn Rodriguez’ arrest for parental kidnapping was issued in Saline County. Rodriguez had been on the run since disappearing in 2017 and her whereabouts, along with the children, were unknown.
In August 2019 the Saline County Sheriff’s Office reached out the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to request assistance. The case was then referred to the United States Marshals Service in the Western District of Missouri. Deputy Marshals working in conjunction with Saline County, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri Information Analysis Center began
running down leads and seeking information on the children’s whereabouts. By October investigators had narrowed the search down and believed Rodriguez may be hiding in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
area.
On Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 Deputy Marshals and local task force officers from the Northern District of Texas located Rodriguez and the 3 missing children at a home in Arlington, TX. Rodriguez was taken into custody on the arrest warrant and awaits extradition back to Missouri. The children were taken into the care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services while they wait to be reunited with the custodial parent. U.S. Marshal Mark James praised the determined effort by the Saline County Sheriff’s Office to recover the missing children and expressed his thanks to the MIAC analysts who provided invaluable support to the U.S. Marshals task force.
The U.S. Marshals Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force-Kansas City division, operates in conjunction with members of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, Independence Missouri Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol and other federal law enforcement partners. The task force objectives are to seek out and arrest fugitives charged with violent crimes, drug offenses, sex offenders and other serious felonies. It also provides direct support to law enforcement agencies in tracking down and recovering missing children. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 67 local fugitive task forces, 8 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.
Tips can be submitted anonymously to the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers via the TIPS hotline at 816-474-8477, on the internet at KCcrimestoppers.com or on the free mobile app available at P3Tips.com. Tips can also be submitted to the U.S. Marshals service directly and anonymously by downloading the USMS Tips app to your Apple or Android device. It can also be accessed online at https://www.usmarshals.gov/tips/index.html. Follow the latest news and updates about the U.S. Marshals Service on Twitter: @USMarshalsHQ
