Missing Gonzales County children found safe in Luling

Two missing Gonzales County boys are back home and their non-custodial father is in custody in Luling after they were the subject of an Amber Alert early Saturday, July 20.

Lucas Mendez, 6, and Lukane Mendez, 2, had last been seen in Gonzales at around 6 p.m. in a white Jeep with their father, Martin Mendez, 34, of Waelder, according to the boys’ uncle, Arnold Guerra, who initially requested help from friends and neighbors on Facebook to find his nephews.

For nearly 12 hours, Mendez responded — not only to Guerra’s urging for the kids’ return, but to any replies from people sympathetic to Guerra — with taunting, profanity and photos and videos of the children, including some of the children at the Lions Park splash pad in Gonzales and others of the youngest, Lukane, watching TV in a mobile home, according to screen grabs from Guerra’s Facebook page.

Mendez claimed that he was celebrating one of the children’s birthdays and that was his reasoning for not returning the children, while Guerra said Child Protective Services had gotten involved in the case.

At the urging of friends and family, Guerra said he had reported the children missing to the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Department early Saturday morning.

“At the request of Child Protective Services, and based off of concerns for the safety of the children, information was sent to the Department of Public Safety to issue an Amber Alert,” Gonzales County Sheriff Keith Schmidt said.

The Amber Alert indicated the children had last been seen in Rosanky — 40 miles from Gonzales — at about 8 p.m. Friday, July 19. They were reported as missing, not abducted, and Mendez was listed as “Wanted/Last Seen With.”

A post on the Facebook group Luling Alleged Chisme shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday morning showed photos of law enforcement who had converged on Longer Park in Luling and indicated the activity might have been related to the Amber Alert.

Guerra then posted on his Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. that the boys had been found, which Schmidt confirmed.

“Possibly as a result of the Amber Alert, at approximately 11 in the morning on July 20, Mendez met with CPS in Luling, Texas,” Schmidt said  “After a preliminary investigation was conducted, Mendez was taken into custody by Luling Police Department, and the kids were taken by CPS to ensure their safety.

"The Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank CPS and Luling Police Department in the safe return of the children.”

It was not immediately known what charges were pending against Mendez.