Suspect Steals Car With Two Infant Boys Inside, Amber Alert Issued

Update: Two boys in the backseat of a car when it was stolen, were found safe in the abandoned Honda Accord early Friday in Desert Hot Springs, police said.

Jayden and Carlos Cortez were found by Riverside County Sheriff's deputies inside the abandoned white Honda Accord, with its engine still on, at around 2:40 a.m. parked at a church in the 17400 block of Bubbling Springs Road, Cathedral City police said.

Jayden, 1, and Carlos, 2, was taken to a hospital for evaluation and have since been reunited with their family, authorities said.

The children were abducted from Cathedral City, California, by an unknown suspect (most missing children are abducted by a relative who isn't supposed to have custody). The children were abducted during the commission of a vehicle theft. The suspect was last seen driving the listed vehicle.

Jayden Cortez, one years old, is 18 inches tall and weighs thirty pounds, last seen wearing a white shirt and blue shorts. The other boy, Carlos Cortes, is two years old.

The car is a 2016 white Honda Accord, all windows are tinted, California License plate7TJR654. The Honda Accord was stolen around 6:45 p.m. from the 31500 block of Whispering Palms Trail, officers said. He (or she) was last seen driving the Accord toward Ramon Road, according to Cathedral City police.

The AMBER Alert program, also known as America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Plan, is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice. It is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies, broadcasters and transportation agencies to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases where there is enough information to make the alert effective.

Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert System to air a description of the abducted child, suspected abductor and any vehicle that may have been used in the abduction. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child.

It was created in 1996 in honor of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and murdered near her home in Arlington, Texas. In the wake of this tragedy a young woman suggested that there should be emergency alerts sent to the public through the broadcasters when a child is abducted. She followed up with a letter, and that letter was used to create the first AMBER Plan. What began as a local effort has grown to include a system of AMBER Alert programs in every state that have been responsible for the successful recovery of 656 children.