Baby found alive; Texas man in custody in Clovis slayings, baby snatching

A 10-month girl, reported missing on Friday from Clovis, was found alive as law enforcement arrested a man in West Texas accused of kidnapping her.

Clovis Police Deputy Chief Trevor Thron said during a Monday afternoon press conference that the child, Eleia Maria Torres, was found uninjured.

Alek Isaiah Collins, 26, of Manvel, Texas, is being charged in New Mexico with two open counts of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and two counts of child abuse, 9th Judicial District Attorney Quentin Ray said. Thron said Collins is in FBI custody in Abilene.

Rick Tomlin, city of Abilene, Texas, spokesman, said on the city’s website that Collins is also being charged with aggravated robbery and assault on a peace officer.

Tomlin said at about 4:30 a.m. Monday, narcotic agents set up surveillance on a home where they eventually found and arrested Collins.

There has been no evidence of any connection between Collins and the 10-month-old, Thron said, “but we’re still following leads about the suspect.”

The FBI had joined the search for the child over the weekend.

Eleia Maria “has been taken to a local area hospital as a precautionary measure,” police told the Eastern New Mexico News.

‘Pays for all the heartache’

The child had been missing after her mother was one of two women found dead in a park north of Clovis on Friday. A 5-year-old girl also was found critically injured with a gunshot wound to the head and remains hospitalized.

Authorities still are investigating the deaths of the two women, identified as Samantha Cisneros and Taryn Allen, both 23 and from Texico, New Mexico. They said Cisneros was the mother of the baby and the 5-year-old girl, whose name has not been released. At least one of the women was fatally shot.

New Mexico State Police said the fathers of the girls were cooperating with investigators and were not believed to be suspects in the homicides.

Authorities said the women were found at the city park about five miles north of Clovis with their purses and belongings near their bodies, and a car belonging to one of the women also was found at the scene.

“I want to say thank you, Clovis, for opening up the doors and welcoming all of my team,” FBI Albuquerque Special Agent Raul Bujanda said.

“These men and women, even if we wanted to, we couldn’t send them home. They were committed to getting this job done, and we’re not done yet. We want to make sure this case is rock solid.

“We want to make sure this suspect pays for all the heartache we’re all feeling.”

Pictures from Clovis baby snatching

David Stevens of the Eastern New Mexico News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.