Deputies investigating the killing of a Texas man now fear his daughter may be in danger.
Authorities have issued an Amber Alert for 13-year-old Adriana Coronado, saying the girl is missing and may have been abducted.
“Investigators with the department have reason to believe that Adriana may have been with her father during the time of the homicide and that her welfare is in great danger at this time,” the Walker County Sheriff’s Office said Monday
The Amber Alert says she was last seen in the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, early Saturday morning, a day before deputies began investigating the death of her father, Caesar Vladimir Coronado.
The father’s burned body was found around noon Sunday on a rural property in northern Walker County, Sheriff Clint McRae told reporters Monday afternoon. A vehicle that may be connected to the case was found in another area, McRae said. Investigators believe gunshots were involved in the killing, he said, but are awaiting the completion of an autopsy.
They issued the Amber Alert early Monday after learning that Coronado’s daughter may have been with him, McRae said, according to video of the press briefing from CNN affiliate KTRK.
Detectives haven’t provided details about what information led them to believe the teen’s safety could be at risk or identified a suspect in the case.
Adriana is 5 feet tall with brown eyes and is usually seen wearing black-framed glasses, authorities said.
“The Walker County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in this matter,” Monday’s statement from the agency said, “and feel that time may very well be of the essence.”
The girl’s mother told CNN affiliate KPRC that she is in Mexico undergoing surgery and last spoke with her husband and daughter on the phone Friday evening.
They seemed to be happy, the mother said, according to KPRC. Adriana planned to have friends come over on Saturday, the mother said, but when those friends arrived at the house, no one was home.