U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION Press Release September 14, 2004 U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP) AND U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN COLORADO KIDNAPPING CASE EL PASO, TEXAS - Two children who were kidnapped in Colorado Saturday were reunited with their mother in El Paso today. An Amber Alert that was issued Saturday morning for two children, 1-year-old Kevin Campos-Valverde and 2 year-old Adriana Campos-Valverde. The children were reported missing early Saturday morning at their home in Rush, Colorado. The alert was cancelled after the children were discovered in Mexico later Saturday. The man suspected of taking the children, 29-year-old Rene Casas-Pacheco, was arrested Saturday in Mexico. The children appeared to be unharmed and were taken into protective custody in Mexico before being returned to U.S. The children's mother, Liliana Valverde, told ICE special agents Casas-Pacheco is her ex-boyfriend. The 17-year-old said he had made attempts to reconcile, but when she refused, Casas-Pacheco became angry and threatened her. Valverde has been living in the United States illegally for the past five years. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Colombus port of entry and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents from Deming, New Mexico, became involved in this case Saturday when Mexican authorities arrived at the Colombus crossing asking for assistance. They had detained Casas-Pacheco at an interior checkpoint in Janos earlier in the day. Mexican authorities believed he was acting suspiciously and they discovered a gun in his vehicle. CBP and ICE officials were able to confirm that Casas-Pacheco was the person Colorado authorities were seeking in the disappearance of the two Campos-Valverde children. The two children traveling with Casas-Pacheco also matched the descriptions CBP and ICE officials were able to obtain from authorities in Colorado. After the identities of the children were confirmed, they were turned over to the U.S. Consulate officials in Juarez, Mexico. Officials delivered the children to the port of entry in El Paso today where CBP and ICE officials then processed them before being reunited with their mother. Casas-Pacheco remains in custody in Mexico charged with kidnapping. ICE Special Agents today served Valverde with a Notice to Appear. That means she is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge in Colorado. "I'll accept the judge's decision. Whatever that may be," said Valverde. # # # U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist
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