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Missing Uvalde child found 90 miles away


Meghann Garcia

Managing editor

After leaving town Tuesday night in a car belonging to her mother-in-law with her son and his 10-year-friend in tow, a 32-year-old woman may face additional charges beyond unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Uvalde Police say that, for reasons unknown, Erika Jean Gerdes left the home of Maria P. Arellano, her former mother-in-law, where she has been staying since April.

Gerdes’ 11-year-old son’s friend was to stay the night. The child was reunited with his mother Wednesday evening.

“The ex mother-in-law made attempts to contact the female, identified as Erika Jean Gerdes, to come back or she would call the police,” reads information provided to the Uvalde Leader-News by the Uvalde Police Department. “It should be noted that Erika Gerdes left in the ex mother-in-law’s vehicle, which she didn’t have permission to take.”

UPD Lt. Mariano Pargas received the case at 3 a.m.  He investigated for 16 hours, at which time an anonymous tipster claimed the boy was at a Jourdanton residence. The Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the location where deputies found the group.

Gerdes, formerly of Corpus Christi, was booked into the Atascosa County Jail on charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle. She was released Thursday on personal recognizance.

When asked if Gerdes was aware there was an ongoing search for the boy, UPD investigators said via email that Gerdes’ phone was off and she was not communicating with anyone.

The 10-year-old boy’s mother, Jessica Seca of Uvalde, issued a plea on Facebook at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday to ask for help in finding her son. The post was shared more than 1,200 times before the boy was located. She did not return a message from newspaper staff, but she posted an update Wednesday at 9:02 p.m. to thank Lt. Pargas for his work in finding and returning the child. Both posts have been removed or restricted from public view.

“Lt. Mariano Pargas and Chief of Police Daniel Rodriguez drove to Jourdanton, Texas, where the 10-year-old child was being safely detained,” reads information from UPD. “We picked up the child and brought him back to Uvalde, Texas and reunited him with his mother, Jessica Seca.

“It should be noted that the Uvalde Police Department wants to thank Texas Ranger Ryan Kindle, Atascosa Sheriff’s Office and all other local law enforcement agencies that assisted in the search for the missing child. We truly appreciate all the hard work everyone put in.”

UPD did not issue an Amber Alert during the investigation. For an Amber Alert, the agency must confirm an abduction, believe a child 17 or younger is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, and have descriptive information about the victim and abduction. Other criteria includes entering the victim’s information into the National Crime Information Center system.

mgarcia@ulnnow.com, 830-278-3335

Erika Jean Gerdes

Erika Jean Gerdes

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