Carmen Montanez is in police custody, accused of taking her two children on Tuesday morning after kicking in the back door of her estranged husband’s Manchester home just before 1:30 a.m.
Montanez, 36, and her husband are separated and she does not have custody of the couple’s children, Leonard Smith Jr., 6, and Ivelyse Smith, 10, police said.
When the children’s father contacted police, he said no threats were made, but he was concerned about Carmen’s mental well-being because of comments she made.
When the alert was issued, authorities said the children had last been seen in the area of Huntington Street and were believed to have been in imminent danger.
The children were found safe around 7 a.m. when police stopped a van as it was heading westbound on Route 6. near Route 87, outside of Manchester.
A State Police detective in an unmarked vehicle spotted Montanez and took her into custody, police said.
Montanez was charged with first-degree burglary, risk of injury to a minor, breach of peace and violation of a protective order.
She is being held on $250,000.
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