THORNTON, Colo. — A missing Thornton family who had not been seen since the morning of Monday, March 30, was located safe on Friday, according to an alert from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Liu Nei Li and Zaiqiao Feng are in custody in San Diego and are awaiting extradition to Colorado on suspicion of child abuse and drug charges, according to a tweet Saturday from the Thornton Police Department.
Their 2-year-old who was with them is in protective custody, and the investigation is ongoing, Thornton Police said.
Relatives of the couple reported to police that they found the family's 5-year-old daughter in the front yard of the home alone at 9:30 p.m. on the night of March 30.
Police said the relatives did not report the family missing until 24 hours after they found the 5-year old alone, on March 31 around 9:30 p.m. at night.
The young daughter told police that her parents left and said they were going to the grocery store on Monday, but never returned to the home.
They were found at a border crossing south of San Diego, according to Matt Barnes with the Thornton Police Department (TPD). They were detailed by officials there based on the missing person alert.
Barnes said all three missing family members were unharmed.
The 5-year-old is currently with a family member, according to TPD.
During their investigation into the family's whereabouts, officers discovered an illegal marijuana grow, TPD said.
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