Two girls safe in Colorado after Amber Alert; man in custody with FBI

Two girls missing from Texas are now safe in southern Colorado, and Terry Miles is in custody with the FBI.
A car matching the description from an Amber Alert was spotted by a deputy Wednesday at the Purgatoire Campground, around 40 miles west of Trinidad in Las Animas County.Deputies followed the car for around 10 miles to verify Miles was in the car with Lili Griffith, 14, and Lulu Bandera-Magret, 7.

The girls are sisters and disappeared on New Year’s Eve after their mother was found dead at her home in Round Rock, Texas.

The car finally stopped 10 miles away, near the summit of Cuchara Pass, just across the county line in Huerfano County.

“He gave us no trouble, he didn’t resist, he surrendered and cooperated,” said Las Animas County Sheriff James Casias. “It was a relief that no one got hurt because we didn’t know what to expect from him.”

Casias said the girls were tired and hungry.

“They wanted pizza,” he said.

Miles was taken from Las Animas County, then to El Paso County and finally to Denver where he faces federal kidnapping charges and is a person of interest in the woman’s death.

The girls were taken to Pueblo and are expected to return to Texas soon.

The relationship between Miles, the girls and their mother has yet to be explained.

Casias thanked the public for providing tips that led to the arrest.

“We started to get several tips about the same area right after the Amber Alert was issued,” he said.

The Round Rock Police Department held a news conference Wednesday night.

Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said that around 7:30 p.m. a tip was received by the Las Animas County Sheriff Office from someone who spotted the 2017 gray Hundai Accent connected with the two missing girls, Lili Griffith and Lulu Bandera-Magret from Texas.

A Las Animas County deputy located the vehicle and pulled in behind it. The Hundai began driving erratically.

Once backup arrived, deputies initiated a high-risk traffic stop. They eventually got the vehicle to pull over. Miles was taken into custody without incident.

The two girls were found unharmed and safe in the vehicle, according to Banks. They were taken to an area hospital to be checked out.

Texas investigators had planned to travel to Trinidad to interview Miles and the girls.

“But that changed after the FBI got involved,” Casias said.

Child Protective Services in Texas and Social Services in Colorado will work to get the girls back to their families in Texas.