Courtesy: PCSO, photo is of Luis Novelo-Rojas & Ashley Ardolino
(PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo.) — A missing and endangered 2-month-old from Pueblo West “appears healthy and well” after she was taken to the hospital for a full medical check following a deactivated Amber Alert on Thursday morning, July 27, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO).
PCSO held a press conference on Thursday afternoon and said the child’s parents, 39-year-old Ashely Ardolino and 35-year-old Luis Novelo-Rojas, are now in custody after law enforcement found the baby safe after an “intensive 24-hour search.”
PCSO said the child was taken by Ardolino and Novelo-Rojas from her grandmother’s home in Pueblo West on Tuesday evening, July 25, after an argument. The child had been in the care of her grandmother since mid-June after Ardolino reportedly made statements threatening to harm the child and asked her mother to take the baby.
An Amber Alert was sent out for the child on Wednesday, July 26. The suspects then drove to Denver, where Novelo-Rojas was found and arrested that evening on an unrelated incident, and booked on several charges including; motor vehicle theft, felony eluding, and several outstanding warrants.
Ardolino was also taken into custody Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m. after being spotted outside a Motel 6 near the Central Park area of Denver. She was also arrested on outstanding warrants and taken into custody.
Both suspects are being held in the Denver County Jail.
PCSO said the baby was located safely inside the room and taken to the hospital. The vehicle the suspects used to drive to Denver was also found abandoned in Aurora on Wednesday.
PCSO thanked all of its law enforcement partners, including local, state, and federal agencies for their help in tracking the two suspects down and bringing the little girl to safety.
“Our detectives did great work from the get-go and we are thankful for their tireless efforts. They did an outstanding job working with other law enforcement partners in the Denver metro area following up on leads as to the whereabouts of [the baby] and her parents,” said Pueblo County Sheriff David J. Lucero.
According to PCSO, the child and grandmother will be reunited soon, as a temporary custody order has been granted.
“We also want to thank the public, the employees of Motel 6 that paid attention to the Amber Alert and the media for sharing the information about the missing child and for all the tips and leads provided to law enforcement,” Lucero added.
