Full Press Conference: Inkster police discuss recovery of two kids

All right. So today we're here to talk about the instant police department. We had, we are providing an update regarding a domestic assault child abduction investigation that began this morning at a residence in the 4,500 block of Spring Hill at approximately 10:04 a.m. Inkster police officers were contacted regarding a domestic violence incident. The victim reported that at approximately 8:45 a.m., the father of her two children entered a bedroom and attempted to restrain her by tying her to a bed. The victim stated that she fought back and attempted to prevent him from restraining her. During the altercation, the subject allegedly struck the victim with a firearm and ultimately succeeded in restraining her before leaving the residence with their two children and the victim's vehicle. The victim, who sustained minor injuries to her wrist, was eventually able to free herself from the bed. She then contacted the suspect by telephone. During that conversation, the suspect reportedly stated that he was in Rouge Park in Detroit and threatened to kill himself as well as their four and six-year-old sons. Upon receiving this information, Inkster police officers immediately initiated investigative efforts to locate the suspect and to ensure the children's safety. Officers entered the vehicle's license plate into Flock, our Flock safety system, which helped them confirm that the vehicle had left the city of Inkster. Officers were then advised that the suspect contacted his grandmother and made similar statements regarding his suicidal intentions and threats towards the children. The grandmother contacted the Detroit Police Department to report the information. When officers were unable to locate the suspect and children at Rouge Park, additional investigative measures were taken, including using the suspect's cellular telephone location information to assist in determining his whereabouts. The investigation ultimately led officers to an intersection in Norwalk, Ohio, which is in Huron Valley, in the county of Huron Valley. officers established telephone contact with the subjects. During that contact, one of the children reportedly advised officers that their father had shot himself and that they were located in a cornfield. Authorities confirmed that the suspect was deceased and that both children had been located and were safe. The Inkster Police Department can confirm that there is no ongoing threat to the Inkster community related to this incident. An Inkster police department team is en route to Huron County Sheriff's Office in Ohio to assist with evidence collection and coordinate the children's safe return to their mother. The Inkster Police Department recognizes the seriousness of incidents involving domestic violence, threats of self-harm, and the safety of children. We are grateful for the coordinated efforts of the Detroit Police Department, Norwalk Police Department, Huron County Sheriff's Department and our team here at the Inkster Police Department who are all involved in locating the children and bringing this incident to a conclusion. Huron County Sheriff's Department in Ohio. You can say about just this day in general I mean I can't imagine what those kids are going through seeing that you guys deploying so many resources Detroit deploying so many resources it's been a day can you just comment on that portion of it? So naturally anytime we receive a call that there's kids missing and can possibly be harmed it kind of raised a bunch of emotions throughout all of the departments involved we were working really diligently to make sure that we use every resource that we had to locate those children and we're just thankful that they were found safe and unharmed a little kids making a FaceTime call saying dad's dead we're in a cornfield I mean that just speaks to sort of a desperation of this whole situation it does especially not us being here in Michigan and then the keep knowing that the kids are somewhere in Ohio we have no idea we don't even we can't even fathom where they're out where they are right because we're not familiar with Norwalk and so it was it was intense it was very intense guys face if you faced any trying to track down the kids I know you said you guys use spot cameras and cell phones can you talk to us about that I think I believe the only challenge was that they had crushed state state ground they were not no longer in Michigan and so that makes it a little bit more difficult because now you have to bring in other or other organizations and get them involved and trying to just keep that communication open between all the departments that we're trying to bring these kids home safely in the father Are you identifying this time or not? We are not identifying the father at this moment. And we're dead or was he transported to a local hospital? No, he was actually found deceased on scene in the cornfield where the kids were um that we're not really sure of. I think our detectives are maybe five minutes out so they'll be be with the kids shortly i can say that i spoke with dave i can tell you that i spoke with the social worker at a local hospital and the nurses and social work staff were with the children who were actively monitoring them and giving them care and support they were able to speak with their mother and establish phone contact home and know that they're on their way home not to make this about the Flock cameras but there is a lot of controversy surrounding them this seemed to be a tool that sort of cracked the case for you guys can you talk about that a little bit i mean we we try to get the community to understand how important these tools are especially to a department the size of of Inkster um and we weren't the only department that utilized flock to locate um norfolk they actually used the flock cameras to to pinpoint where that vehicle were which direction they traveled and that's kind of how we were able to locate them have you guys ever had any calls or concerns about this family before or the the family spoke to us and they said this was completely out of the blue so we have not had very much contact with this family um i what we were being told is that it was possibly a breakup happening um and i think uh our our suspect uh was taking it hard anything you want to say about mental health importance i mean it seems like that was obviously a factor i would say it's very important for us to make sure that we keep our mental health intact. If any woman or any guy is out there and they're in a domestic violence situation, there is help out there for you. You do not have to stay in those type of situations and in harm's way. There's help for you.