VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County sheriff’s deputies are asking for the public’s help in locating two children that went missing Friday.
According to officials, the two children were last seen with their mother, who lost custody of them after a violent domestic living environment.
The two children and their mother, Margarita Guiterrez of Marion County, met with the children’s grandmother in DeLand.
According to officials, the grandmother was previously given custody of the two children.
Authorities said the visit was unsupervised and happened at 12:30 p.m. at a Lowe’s.
“The Sheriff’s Office was alerted when Guiterrez failed to return the children, Isabelle Jones, 11, and Xzavier Espinosa, 5, at the required time,” a news release said.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies have attempted to contact Guiterrez and the children, but were unsuccessful.
According to officials, the children have been registered with the state and national databases as missing.
If you have any information that may help authorities find these children you are asked to call 911 or the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office at 386-239-8276.
You can also call Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-8477 (TIPS).