Two people arrested after a suspected kidnapping trigger a countywide Amber Alert in Tulare County

TULARE CO., Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) – A reported kidnapping in Tulare County early Monday morning that led to a multi-county Amber Alert ended with the arrest of two people.

Officials with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to a report of the abduction of two children at a home in Earlimart around 12:30 p.m.

When the officers arrived, the children’s guardian told them that their sister, the biological mother of the two children, and three other adults had entered their home, attacked them and taken the five-year-old boy and six-year-old girl.

An Amber Alert was then sent to multiple counties, including Kern County, to search for the children and the suspect, identified as Makenzie Morelli, 29.

TCSO officials say Morelli contacted law enforcement and agreed to turn the children over to officers. According to officials, the siblings were not injured.

Morelli and David Steen, 57, were arrested and charged with kidnapping, child abduction and burglary.

The sheriff’s office did not disclose where the children or suspects were found.

Investigators are still looking for two other possible suspects.

If you have any information about this case or possible suspects, contact Detective M. Ruelas, Detective C. Sailer or Sgt. J. Nicholson at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at 559-733-6218. You can also reach us anonymously at [email protected] or by text or voicemail at 559-725-4194.