4 El Paso kids allegedly kidnapped found in Juarez; mom behind bars, dad remains wanted fugitive

EL PASO, Texas – Four young El Paso children described as "missing and endangered" were safely located in Mexico and their mother was arrested on kidnapping charges, Texas authorities said Thursday.

Biridiana Saenz, 28, was being held in the El Paso County Jail after being taken into custody across the border in Ciudad Juarez and turned over to special agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI in recent days.

The four children that Texas DPS officials said were rescued are five months, one, two, and three years of age.

Authorities contend Saenz fled to Mexico with the kids "in defiance of court ordered custody by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services" to reunite with her husband, a wanted fugitive accused of assaulting and injuring one of the children on a prior occasion.

Husband and father Johnnie Lee Carter remained on the loose in Mexico, authorities said, indicating warrants for his arrest out of El Paso and Odessa remained active.

The Texas DPS declined to release further information about the case at this time.