FBI agents arrested a Houston woman Thursday who refused to return five children victims of Hurricane Katrina to their mother and recovered the kids she allegedly kidnapped.
Rhonda Tavey, 44, was at her mother's home in northwest Houston when authorities arrested her, her attorney, Dick DeGuerin, told Chron.com. She is now detained at the Harris County Jail without bail and will appear in court Friday to face charges of kidnapping.
The children, aged 3 to 8, were turned over to the local Child Protective Services office pending a decision on whether to return them to their mother, Erica Alphonse, 22.
Tavey's arrest ended an Amber Alert issued Wednesday to find her and rescue the children. Tavey left her home in Houston and ran away with the kids on July 11. Authorities negotiated with her to return the children to Alphonse but she refused, prompting the charges.
Meanwhile, Tavey's daughter denied that her mother kidnapped the children and told ABC News in an e-mail that she was just protecting the children against their irresponsible mother. Lauren Tavey also claimed that her mother fled for safety because Alphonse threatened her at knifepoint when she refused to give her the bank account she set up for the children.
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