Two Aneth area children are safely home after an AMBER Alert was issued

Two San Juan County children were safely returned home after an AMBER Alert was issued.

On Thursday, July 8, 16-month old Bailey Begay and her three-month-old brother Braidin Begay were reported abducted from their home located 15 miles north of Aneth.

The children were taken from their residence by their father, 35-year-old Brandon Begay.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the four corners area were alerted and began searching for the children and their father last seen in a Ford F250 pick-up truck.

Using cellphone data, law enforcement officers were able to determine Begay was in the Dolores, Colorado area around 4:30 pm.

Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado StateHighway Patrol, and state-federal partners were able to locate the pick-up which had been abandoned near Dolores.

Local residents in the area were able to provide information that helped law enforcement establish a grid search of where they believed the suspect would be.

An AMBER Alert was issued for the two missing children on Thursday evening. The children were successfully located at around 2:00 am that night in a remote location southwest of Dolores.

The children were unharmed and Begay was arrested by officers without further incident.

The search effort involved multiple agencies including the Navajo Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Montezuma County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, Navajo Department of Emergency Management and the Navajo Department of Criminal investigation as well as San Juan County New Mexico Sheriff’s Office who provided a helicopter to aid in the search.

The family was provided support by victim advocate Lynn Bia with the Utah Navajo Health System Advocate Program.

Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin thanked agencies and residents for their help on what he described as a cold night.

“This is what we do, we work together, it's a partnership. That’s what we work for is public safety and bringing innocent victims back home.”

Navajo Police Department Chief Phillip Francisco shared similar sentiments.

“We want to thank our county, state, local, and federal law enforcement partners in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, as well as our own Navajo Division of Public Safety partners, for working together and collectively pulling together resources that lead to the successful outcome of this incident. I want to also express my appreciation to Montezuma County Sheriff Steven Nowlin and his deputies for their partnership and determination in finding (the children). We are grateful the children were found safe and have been united with their family.”

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