VANCOUVER, Wash. — Vancouver police have asked the public to help them find a Vancouver mother and her two young children who have been missing since Oct. 7.
Amanda Folston, 30, and her two children, 7-year-old Jessie Tonkin and 5-year-old Liam Tonkin, were last seen in the area of east Vancouver on Oct. 7, the Vancouver Police Department reported.
Police say the father of the children shares custody with Folston, and when he went to get the kids from the Motel 6 at 221 Chkalov Drive, they were not there.
"Missing people could be a lot of things that happened that we don't know about, but they could certainly be victims of crimes or of a crime, and we want to at least be able to rule that out. If we can't rule that out, we're going to keep this as a top priority and keep investigating until we can make that determination," said VPD Sgt. Julie Ballou, who investigates missing persons for the department.
Police described Folston as a Black woman, about 5-foot-2 and approximately 120 pounds. Jessie is a girl with brown eyes and brown hair. She's about 4 feet tall and weighs about 48 pounds. Liam is a boy with brown eyes and light brown hair. He's about 3-8 and weighs about 41 pounds.
Police say it's possible Folston has left the area without telling anyone, which would be a violation of her parental custody agreement. But at this point, it's unclear what has happened and where she and the children are.
"We do know that Amanda has ties to New Jersey, and so, she could potentially be on her way there, so we are asking the public — not only Vancouver but nationally — to be on the lookout ... Our priority is just making sure that she and the children are safe," said Ballou.
Anyone with information about the location of the mother and her children is asked to call 911 or contact Vancouver Police Detective James Dewey at james.dewey@cityofvancouver.us.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is provided.
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