Mother of Temple girl who was subject of Amber Alert taken into custody on emergency detention order
TEMPLE, Texas (KWTX) - Police officers took Amanda Guerra, 39, the mother of 7-year-old Kryslee Hernandez, who was the subject of an Amber Alert Tuesday evening, into custody on an emergency detention order, Temple police announced.
At the time she was reported missing, police believed Hernandez was in grave or immediate danger. Police said the girl and her mother were last seen at about 11 a.m. on June 27 entering a wooded area near the railroad tracks in the 3100 block of North 12th Street.
Some people who live on 12th street, including Judy Wilson, said they noticed suspicious activity. Wilson wondered what the two were doing in the neighborhood.
“I ask her if I can help her thinking maybe she’s lost or looking for a house or something, she said no she’s taking her little one around,” Wilson said.
At 4:24 p.m., a resident arrived home and found a vehicle she did not recognize parked in her driveway. The resident called police, and also provided home surveillance footage to investigators. The footage showed Guerra and Hernandez entering a wooded area, police said.
Wilson said she also saw the two go off into the wooded area.
“The little girl was just trailing behind her and they were walking really slow,” she said.
An Amber Alert was issued for the girl at about 11 p.m. Tuesday. Temple police and other law enforcement agencies searched for the girl overnight using drones and K-9s.
“During the investigation, family and friends expressed deep concern about Guerra and 7-year-old Kryslee Hernandez’s well-being,” Temple police said, “In interviews, they indicated that Guerra may have been suffering from a mental health crisis at the time.”
Relatives told police Guerra’s cellular device was off and she had not informed anyone of any plans to visit the wooded area. “No one could explain why she and Kryslee would have abandoned the vehicle,” police said.
At approximately 7:00 a.m. on June 28, police received a phone call from a family member who had received a phone call from Guerra, who was using a bystander’s phone.
The family member provided the detective with the location in the 3300 block of N. 3rd St. in Temple, approximately half a mile from the last known location of Guerra and the child.
Officers responded to the area and found the girl and the woman. They were immediately evaluated by EMS and likely dehydrated, police said. Both had minor scratches indicating they had traveled in a wooded area, police further said.
Guerra was taken into custody on the emergency detention order and the girl was released to relatives.
“I’m just grateful her and her mother are safe and Kryslee is home,” said the girl’s father, Johnny Hernandez. “She is resting and watching TV, drinking lots of Gatorade.”
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