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Police: 2 Children Taken in 1985 Found, Mother Arrested

Authorities said they received a tip in December about Elaine Yates and her daughters' whereabouts in Texas

Rhode Island state police say they have located two children reported missing in 1985 and arrested a non-custodial parent wanted for snatching them.

Elaine Yates is accused of snatching her daughters Kimberly and Kelly Yates on Aug. 26, 1985, in Warwick. In 1988, a felony warrant was issued for Yates.

Kelly was 10 months old at the time she went missing. Her sister was 3. Kelly would now be 32; Kimberly would be 35.

Authorities said they received a tip in December about Yates and her daughters' whereabouts in Texas, and eventually arrested Yates in Houston, where she was living under the name Leina L. Waldberg, with the help of Texas authorities on Monday.

Yates waived extradition in Houston during an arraignment, and will return to Rhode Island to be formally arraigned Wednesday on a felony charge of child snatching.

It's unclear if Yates has an attorney.

Police say the father of the girls has been informed and is "relieved." It's up to his daughters whether to contact him.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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