Seagoville

Amber Alert for Two Teen Girls Monday Was a Planned Hoax: Police

The girls were declared missing after they disappeared from a flea market in Seagoville

Amber Alert
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After several tips, police discovered that an Amber Alert issued Monday for two missing teenage girls in Seagoville turned out to be a planned hoax; the girls were found unharmed in a nearby motel.

The East Texas girls were first declared missing from a local flea market on Sunday at 8 p.m., according to Seagoville police.

Police said the girls arrived with one of the teenager's family, upon arrival they separated, and when it was time to leave they didn't respond to their families' calls.

One mother reported an alarming call from her daughter at 11:30 p.m. and she began to believe the girls were in trouble and had been kidnapped.

Police traced the call to a Dallas motel where they went to investigate with no luck of finding the girls.

Police said they continued to investigate as an Amber Alert was released Monday and found surveillance video from Sunday of the teenage girls calmly paired with two young men, with no sign of distress.

According to officers, the video contributed to police believing that the girls planned their disappearance to look like an abduction to be with the men.

Police identified one of the men as 20-year-old Jose Penaloza-Estrada of Plano.

When police found him in Northeast Dallas, police said they discovered that he paid for a motel in Dallas on Sunday night.

Police arrived at the motel to find both girls at the location unharmed, they then proceeded to arrest Penaloza-Estrada.

Due to Penaloza-Estrada knowing about the Amber Alert and the girls reported missing, he was charged for harboring a runaway child.

Police said Penaloza-Estrada may face additional charges. It is not clear if he has obtained an attorney.

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