‘This is a tragedy’: Two found dead in Kansas home after alleged child abduction

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Two people are dead and a man is in custody after an AMBER Alert was issued for a young child Tuesday morning.

Initially, police in Topeka, Kansas, said the toddler had been abducted last week by an unknown suspect and was believed to be in “imminent danger.” A later update from authorities said the vehicle belonging to the boy’s mother was also missing.

Early Tuesday afternoon, authorities said the missing child had been found safe, roughly 400 miles away in Illinois with the suspect. Christopher Barnshaw, 32, was arrested by police in Mattoon, Illinois, in connection with the toddler’s reported abduction. As of Tuesday, he was being held for alleged aggravated kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon.

Nexstar’s WCIA reports the toddler was found safe in the backseat of the vehicle Barnshaw was driving, which matched the description of the car missing from the child’s Topeka home.

During a press conference shortly after the child was found, Topeka Police said a homicide investigation had been launched in connection with the AMBER Alert.

Police Chief Chris Vallejo explained that officers were called to a welfare check at a Topeka home Tuesday morning. There, a man and a woman were found dead. The 2-year-old child who lived at the home was not located, prompting the AMBER Alert.

According to Vallejo, police are still investigating the cause of death for the two individuals, whose identities have not been released.

“This is a tragedy, and I know the residents around this area are concerned about this, about this event,” Vallejo said. “It’s not something that happens every day, and I feel for them. I just want them to know that we are going to bring this investigation to its full conclusion and we will bring justice for the victims with whatever information we found out and there is no ongoing threat and the Topeka Police Department and supporting departments are on this case.”

What relationship Barnshaw has with the victims, if any, was not shared by police on Tuesday. Authorities said late Tuesday they were working to reunite the child with a family member.