Authorities in Chicago, Ill. are searching for three children after their mother was found murdered.
Cops fear that the children may have been kidnapped by their father, Benito Casanova.
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Chicago police say that 7-year-old Karla Casanova is endangered missing. They're searching for Karla and her two siblings after their mother was discovered murdered in their Windy City home.
Police say 30-year-old Sophia Garcia's body was found by cops on Monday, April 21, 2008. Detectives say they went to the location after family members were concerned that they had not heard from Sophia all weekend.
They say the mother of three was in a closet in her Humboldt Park home with a plastic bag over her head. The Chicago Police Department has launched a murder investigation in the case.
Detectives are searching for the children, 11-year-old Fernando, 7-year-old Karla and 6-year-old Oscar, along with their father Benito Casanova.
All three children are described as biracial; police say they are Hispanic and Caucasian.
Detectives say that Casanova picked up his children at Yates Elementary on Friday, April 18, as school was dismissed at 2:30 PM. The children have not been seen since. Authorities are concerned that they were kidnapped and have been on the run since Friday.
After Sophia's body was discovered around noon on Monday, authorities realized the children were missing. Later that day, AMBER alerts were issued for all three, but they were canceled months later when the kids still had not been recovered.
6-year-old Oscar is the youngest of the Casanova children. He is 4' tall and weighs 60 pounds.
Police say Benito Casanova is a Hispanic male who is 6'1" tall and 230 pounds. They say he has brown hair and brown eyes.
Detectives say the children may be in his company and they may be headed to Mexico in Casanova's silver or gray 2002 Dodge Dakota. The Dakota has Illinois plates: 86196HB. Cops say that the vehicle may have one set of the plates missing.