Two children are missing after police believe their birth mother abducted them outside their foster home in Los Angeles.
The brothers, identified as 2-year-old Derek Alejandro Rodriguez and 10-year-old Jaden Hernandez, are believed to have snuck out of their foster home on South Virgil Avenue early Thursday and been kidnapped by their mother, identified by police as Jackline Hernandez-Torres, KTLA reported.
The boys’ foster parents said they heard the brothers opening the door around 1:30 a.m. — but by the time they ran outside, they were gone, the outlet reported.
The foster parents told police they were concerned that the boys had gone searching for their birth parents.
The boys were later spotted with Hernandez-Torres near her home in the Westlake neighborhood, but have not been seen since, police said.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the missing children around 10 a.m. Thursday and the search is ongoing with air and K-9 units, KTLA reported. Hernandez-Torres has been named as a suspect.
Police initially provided a description of a car they believed she had been driving, but later removed the vehicle in an updated alert.
Derek, the toddler, is described by police as Hispanic, 2 feet tall and about 20 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark shirt and dark pants.
His older brother, Jaden, is described as a Hispanic male, 4 feet tall and between 50 and 60 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a dark shirt and dark pants.
Their mother, 30, is 5 feet tall, weighs 120 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a light colored shirt and dark sweatpants.
It was not immediately clear why Hernandez-Torres did not have custody of her children.
The kids and an adult woman believed to be their biological mother were seen outside her Westlake home but then left the property and have not been seen since, according to KTLA.
