Avon police ran down two tips Sunday in their search for a convicted child molester who left town with two children – neither tip panned out.
The two leads reported sightings of Pedro Mata Rodriguez, 31, and his girlfriend’s children in the Denver area, said Avon Police Officer Dave Wienman.
Federal agents, along with workers from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, are trying to find 15-year-old Jessica Marbella Garcia and 11-year-old Jose Lewis Cerrato.
Rodriguez left with the children about 5 a.m. Friday. Saturday a statewide Amber Alert was cancelled because authorities believe the children may already be out of Colorado.
It appears the boy and girl went with Rodriguez willingly because their clothes were packed and Jessica left a note for her mother saying she was not coming back, police said.
Hilda Vargas, the girl’s mother, said she didn’t know of Rodriguez’s prior sex offenses, and told police she suspects there were signs Rodriguez was grooming the children to take advantage of them.
Rodriguez’s 26-year-old sister may also be with the children.
Investigators believe they may be on their way to Mexico because Rodriguez told co-workers he was returning to his native country.
Rodriguez has a 1995 conviction in Hillsborough County, Fla., for lewd and lascivious contact with a child, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Authorities said Rodriguez was originally arrested for fondling a child. Although he registered as a sex offender in Florida, he did not do so when he moved to Colorado.
Jessica is 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds and has long, curly, brown hair. Jose is 4 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 98 pounds and has brown hair on the side and blond hair on the top of his head.
Rodriguez is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 145 pounds and has brown eyes and short black hair.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Vail dispatch center at 970-479-2200, ext. 0.
