Kings County kids found alive, their father, accused of killing their mother, in custody: Officials

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The two children taken from a home in the Home Garden community of Kings County after their mother was found killed have been found safe.

The suspect, their father, 23-year-old Jonathan Alexis Maldonado-Cruz, has been taken into custody.

Maldonado-Cruz is suspected of shooting and killing 22-year-old Madeline Rose Cuevas in a home near Fourth Place and Orchard Drive.

Joel Cuevas, Madeline's father, called 911 when he hadn't heard from his daughter, who lives down the street from him.

Madeline was found dead in the home around 4 pm Tuesday.

The Kings County Sheriff's Office believed that Maldonado-Cruz was headed to Mexico with the children.

However, it wasn't until several hours later that a notice about the missing children was issued on social media and to news outlets Tuesday evening, an official Amber Alert was not sent out to phones until late Wednesday morning.

Further details of Maldonado-Cruz and where the kids were found safely have not been released.

Cuevas says that Madeline worked as a supervisor at Costco and the young mother recently bought a home.

She would have turned 23 years old on Valentine's Day.

The Kings County Sheriff's Office will be holding a news conference at 3 pm Thursday. We will be streaming the event.