HAMPTON, Va. — Two children allegedly abducted by their father in Hampton are safe after officers found them in North Dakota.
Timothy Truitt, 36, is facing a felony abduction charge after he allegedly kidnapped Jaxon Truitt, 2, and Adriana Truitt, 1, at a Hampton Walmart and fled to North Dakota.
The Hampton Police Division said the North Dakota State Highway Patrol pulled Truitt over during a traffic stop, just after midnight Tuesday morning. The Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department in North Dakota then contacted Hampton.
The children and two other people, a man and a woman, were also in the car, they aren't facing charges.
The children were found hours after authorities issued an AMBER alert, but it took officers more than 24 hours to get the alert out.
The children were last seen at the Walmart Supercenter on Cunningham Drive around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Investigators think the children's legal guardian took them and Truitt to Walmart.
But once inside the store, police say Truitt separated himself and the kids from their guardian, leaving with them and an unknown man.
Virginia State Police issued an AMBER Alert at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
A Hampton Police Division spokesman said officers had to meet certain criteria before an AMBER Alert goes out.
A spokeswoman for Virginia State Police said Hampton reached out early Monday about an AMBER Alert but “the situation did not fulfill all criteria” required by the state. Police didn’t yet have an arrest warrant for Truitt.
The spokeswoman said in an e-mail: “Hampton PD approached state police later Monday afternoon to confirm that warrants had been obtained for Truitt’s arrest. That fulfilled the required criteria for an AMBER Alert activation, which was promptly done.”
According to online records, officers arrested and booked Truitt into the Burleigh County Detention Center, just after 1:30 Tuesday morning.
Truitt faces charges of felony abduction and giving false information to law enforcement.
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This isn’t the first time Truitt landed behind bars. Truitt is also a registered sex offender.
According to the Virginia State Police registry, Truitt was convicted of incest and indecent liberties with a minor five years ago in North Carolina.
Just last year, Truitt was convicted for giving false information as a violent offender.