Volusia County, Fla. – Two children who went missing with their mother after a custody visit from Volusia County have been found in Columbia County, according to authorities.
The two children went missing with their mother, who lost custody of them after a violent domestic living environment, according to reports.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said the mother, Margarita Gutierrez, is in custody.
The two children and their mother met 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. Friday at a Lowe’s.
“The Sheriff’s Office was alerted when Gutierrez failed to return the children, Izabelle Jones, 11, and Xzavier Espinosa, 5, at the required time,” a news release said.
Gutierrez faces a charge of interfering with custody in Volusia County, along with several charges in Lake City, including burglary of a residence, fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest without violence and child abuse, according to a news release.
Deputies caught Gutierrez during a burglary Sunday night at a vacant property. Deputies said Gutierrez was unable to show them an ID and took off in a car. Deputies chased Gutierrez until she was caught in Lake City.