Missing two-month-old out of Pueblo West found safe, parents arrested
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Bureau of Investigation canceled the Amber Alert for a missing-two-month-old girl who was reportedly taken from family members by her parents Tuesday evening.
At 10:37 a.m. Thursday, the CBI said she had been safely located.
"We want to thank the Denver Police Department, the Aurora police, the Arvada police, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and the US Marshals for their time and valuable assistance and help bringing a successful resolution to this case," Dave Lucero, Pueblo County Sheriff said.
Her father, 35-year-old Luis Novelo-Rojas was arrested overnight in Denver. Her mother, 39-year-old Ashley Ardolino, was also taken into custody according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.
According to investigators, Ardolino and Novelo-Rojas both were wanted on multiple warrants unrelated to this incident. Novelo-Rojas was arrested for an investigation of Motor Vehicle Theft and Felony Eluding in addition to his previous warrants.
According to the Denver Police Department, while patrolling in the area of E. Colfax Ave. and N. Uintah St., officers saw a white Chevrolet Tahoe without a license plate. That was later confirmed to be stolen. DPD officers tried stopping the vehicle, but the driver accelerated and sped off.
Using StarChase technology, DPD officers tracked the Tahoe to the 6700 block of Fenton St. in Arvada.
Officers with the DPD, Arvada Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, and assistance from the DPD's Air Support Unit tracked the suspect - later identified as Novelo-Rojas - to a home and took him into custody.
At 10:10 a.m., DPD assisted the CBI and PCSO in finding Ardolino and Elsy at a motel in the 12000 block of E. 39th Ave. Ardolino was arrested for her outstanding warrants.
"They learned this morning that Ashley and baby Elsy may possibly be in a motel in Denver," Lucero said. "PCSO Detectives ... located Ashley Ardolino at about 10:25 a.m. as she left Motel six in the Central Park area of Denver... baby Elsie was located safely in the motel room."
Elsy has been living with a family member in Pueblo West for the last month after Ardolino reportedly made "disturbing statements" about wanting to hurt Elsy and asked that family member to take her.
That family member said Ardolino and Novelo-Rojas had driven from Denver to visit Elsy in Pueblo West Tuesday. Once there, the family member and the parents got into an argument that ended in them taking Elsy.
The vehicle the suspects were traveling in, a forest-green GMC Yukon, was found abandoned Wednesday afternoon in Aurora.
The PCSO said more details will be released as it becomes available. The sheriff's office thanked everyone who shared the information on Elsy.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office held a press conference discussing the incident below.
