An Amber Alert has been discontinued on Sunday for 9-year-old Jessica Burns and 6-year-old Jennifer Burns from McKinney.
McKinney police announced the arrest of the girls' paternal grandmother in connection with their abduction.
The sisters, both of whom wear glasses, have blonde hair and blue eyes, were last seen around 6 p.m. Thursday at a McKinney Cicis at Central Expressway and Virginia Parkway.
According to McKinney Police, they were having a supervised visit with their father, Justin Burns, while in the custody of CPS.
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Burns is now sitting behind bars in Collin County on two felony counts of kidnapping after police say he and his mother, Jame Burns, concocted a plan to snatch Jennifer and Jessica.
“I feel like she’ll take her frustrations out on the children,” said the girls’ maternal grandmother Jamie Peacock.
Peacock said she’s been left feeling angry, frustrated and lost as she waits for updates about the whereabouts of her granddaughters from Florida.
“I just worry about what a desperate person will do when it comes to Jame,” she said.
Peacock said she last saw Jennifer, Jessica, and their middle sister, Jordyn, during a visit to Dallas over the summer, and at the time, the girls were already in CPS custody.
She said throughout her visit, they were happy and that Jessica is the spitting image of their late mother.
She says Jennifer, the baby of the family, has a speech disorder and is incredibly loveable.
“They’re both beautiful children and extremely smart,” said Peacock.
Peacock asks the community to pray and for those who know anything to call the police.
Jame Burns is described as white, 5 feet 2 inches tall, and about 230 pounds. Jame has brown eyes and may have blonde hair.
She was last seen driving a 2009 black Ford Escape with Texas plates, MTC 6093. Police say it may have a white scratch on the front, silver handles and a black interior.
Burns has a criminal history and records obtained by NBC 5 show she was free on bonds totaling $3,000 after being accused in 2021 of criminal negligence, abandoning/endangering a child, and possession of a controlled substance of less than one gram. She was scheduled to appear Friday, Jan. 20, for a plea deal on the child endangerment case but did not show up, officials said.
Now, Peacock urges Burns to do what’s right.
“Please for the safety of the children, bring them back. You’ve already done what’s been done and can’t undo it. So please, for the safety of the children just bring them back,” she said.
9-year-old Jessica is described as white, 4 feet 10 inches tall and about 90 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes. Police said Jessica was last seen wearing dark-frame glasses, a red long-sleeve shirt with black sleeves, and blue jeans.
6-year-old Jennifer is white, 4 feet tall and weighs about 60 pounds. Police said Jennifer has blonde hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing purple-framed glasses, a light blue shirt with sparkle designs and blue jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to immediately call the McKinney Police Department's Tip Line at 972-547-2758. The FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety are both assisting in the search for the missing sisters.
