NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Nearly a year after being reported missing from their Tennessee foster home, two sisters have been found in Northeast Miami-Dade, and their mother has been arrested.
Forty-five-year-old Sandra Bates appeared in bond court Friday afternoon. She is accused of kidnapping the girls and their older brother and taking them to Florida.
The children were initially reported missing back in September.
On Tuesday, Village of Biscayne Park Police received a call about a possible juvenile wandering around the streets barefoot.
“We got a call from a concerned citizen of a young female walking down the street, no shoes on, looked very disoriented,” said Biscayne Park Police detective Rodney Schwartz.
Officers responded to the scene and found a disoriented, barefoot 13-year-old girl in the area of Griffing Boulevard and Northeast 118th Street.
“She told me she didn’t know where she was coming from, she didn’t know where she was going,” said Schwartz.
The teen was taken to an area hospital.
Police said she told them she hurt her foot running away.
“She was very out of it when we spoke to her. All she could remember was her name,” said Schwartz, “and it took her quite a while to remember her date of birth.”
The teenager led police to her 9-year-old sister, who was inside the closet of a duplex along the 1300 block of Northeast 150th Street.
“She was as far back into the corner as you can get,” said Schwartz. “It took me literally 5 to 10 to minutes of talking to her, down on my knees, to get her to even come within arm’s length of me.”
Police received permission from the homeowner to search the home where, they said, they located Bates.
She had an outstanding warrant for kidnapping.
“I saw a couple cops pulling out guns and going to the back of the house,” said one witness. “They had vests on, big guns, so I got scared. I put the dog in the house, and I went inside the house.”
“Shocking, because this is a very peaceful neighborhood,” said TJ Collins, who works nearby.
With help from the Department of Children and Families, they learned that the girls were kidnapped in Memphis last September.
Their 16-year-old brother, Servario Bates, is still missing.
“He’s out there all alone. That right now is my main goal, is locating that teenager,” said Schwartz.
7News spoke to a man who lives in the home and said he didn’t know Bates, but saw she was visiting another woman who lives in the unit.
“I was surprised,” said resident Fedner Blais. “I was surprised when I saw police come to my house.”
Bates was then arrested and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Police said the suspect’s children have been taken away from her more than once, and this is not the first time she has taken them illegally.
Bates has since been charged with felony custodial interference and will be extradited back to Memphis.
If you have any information on Servario Bates’ whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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