HOTCHKISS, Colo. — Two children from western Colorado who were believed to have been abducted by their grandmother in May were found safe this week, and their grandmother faces criminal charges, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Marshals Service said in a release Friday that Jacqueline Ballard, 67, was arrested Wednesday in Hotchkiss. Law enforcement officers searched her home and found the 9-year-old and 10-year-old who had been missing since May 30. They are both now in the care of Child Protective Services.
The U.S. Marshals' investigation began July 1, when a deputy U.S. Marshal in Grand Junction learned about the missing children.
The children were entered into the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's national database. On July 21, a felony arrest warrant was issued for Ballard by local authorities, charging her with violation of a custody order. The warrant was also adopted by the U.S. Marshals' Colorado Violent Offender Task Force, and the case was elevated to major case status with the agency, according to the release.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an Endangered Missing Alert, and investigators uncovered connections and travel spanning five western states. The alert described Ballard as a noncustodial family member. The Marshals' investigation resulted in a lead indicating Ballard was about to return to Hotchkiss with the children, the release said.
On Wednesday, a multiagency team set up surveillance on Ballard's Hotchkiss home and made contact with Danielle Ballard, Jacqueline's daughter and the children's aunt. Soon after that, law enforcement officers entered the home and arrested Ballard and found the children safe, according to the release.
Both Jacqueline and Danielle Ballard were arrested and booked into the Delta County Jail. They are being held on $50,000 cash bond.
9NEWS is not identifying the children because they are juveniles.
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