An Amber Alert was issued Monday evening for a 2-year-old boy last seen in Riverside County, officials announced. The boy’s father, named as the suspect in the Amber Alert, is also being sought in the death of the child’s mother.
Celestine Stoot, III was last seen Sunday in Lake Elsinore, the California Highway Patrol said in a tweet at about 6:30 p.m.
His father, 42-year-old Celestine Stoot Jr., is suspected of child abduction. He is also a wanted homicide suspect in the death 43-year-old Natasha Denise Barlow, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Barlow was identified as the boy’s mother by the Sheriff’s Department.
Stoot Jr. was described as being a Black man with black hair, brown eyes, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds.
He is considered armed and dangerous.
The suspect vehicle is a silver 2020 Kia Optima, with a temporary California license plate numbered U335133.
Officials initially provided different ages for the father and child but later updated the information.
Anyone who sees Celestine Stoot Jr. is asked to call 911 immediately.