SEDGWICK COUNTY —Just before 5a.m. Monday, police in Wichita reported they located a 2-year-old boy, the subject of an Amber Alert, who was now safe and the boy's father 25-year-old Richard Ramones was custody.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation then canceled the Amber Alert. Some members of the public who received the Amber Alert message wondered why the alert was not sent earlier.
According to the KBI, at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, the boy was physically taken from his mother by Ramones, who assaulted the mother. She was holding boy at the time of the assault and the father fell into furniture with the child, possibly causing injury to him. The child was believed to be injured and in imminent danger.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation explained the delay. "Wichita Police contacted KBI at 3 a.m. Monday related to this incident. Just before 3:40 a.m. it was decided that the abduction met the Department of Justice AMBER Alert criteria. Then at 4:03 a.m. the KBI sent notifications to media and other subscribers of the AMBER alert."
"Between 3 and 4 a.m., KBI gained and reviewed case facts, obtained necessary info about the child and suspects (including their photographs) and entered it into multiple AMBER alert systems to coordinate the WEA, EAS, website, social media and more."
Ramones remains jailed on requested charges of domestic battery and aggravated endangering a child, according to online jail records.