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Amber Alert canceled: Three siblings missing out of Marana found safely

Posted at 4:20 PM, Jul 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-11 20:19:24-04

Police say three children missing from Marana on Monday morning were located safely, putting an end to an Amber Alert. 

The children were found by an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper in a remote area north of Globe around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. Two other children were reportedly in the vehicle with them, but all have since been taken back home safe and unharmed.

According to DPS, 33-year-old Bedajii Harnesberry was responsible for taking the children in a green 2003 Ford station wagon with paper plates from New Mexico. She has since been arrested on three counts of custodial interference. 

Parvarti,16, Malchiyah, 11, and Ramachandra, 14, were with the suspect and were believed to be heading to New Mexico. 

Police say the children were with their grandmother, who has full custody of the children, when Harnesberry and she got in an argument Monday morning. The grandmother went next door to visit a neighbor, as Harnesberry had been staying with the grandmother since the 4th of July, when she saw one of her granddaughters getting into Harnesberry's vehicle.

The grandmother then got into her own car and tried to block Harnesberry from leaving, but Harnesberry struck the woman's vehicle causing some minor damage. Harnesberry left the woman's residence, and it's believed all three children are with the suspect. 

Police were concerned as the grandmother found chemicals and measuring glasses on the kitchen counter; the ingredients located are commonly used when making chloroform. Police were concerned with Harnesberry's mental health and believe the chemicals may have been used to take the children against their own will.

"There is a possibility that chemicals were used," said Deputy Ryan Inglett, with the Pima County Sheriff's Department. "That raises the urgency and the need level and we need to be aware of that." 

During Amber Alerts, mobile notifications are sent out statewide. However, Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said they are investigating why an Amber Alert notification was not sent out via mobile devices in Arizona for Monday's search for the three children. They said come Tuesday, they would know more as to why the system failed this time.