Girl Who Was Subject of Amber Alert Is Found Safe, and Her Father Is in Custody

The Associated Press
By The Associated Press
January 29, 2024US News
share
Girl Who Was Subject of Amber Alert Is Found Safe, and Her Father Is in Custody
Police tape in a file photo. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

PRINCETON, Ky.—A 5-year-old western Kentucky girl reported missing after her mother was killed was found unharmed Monday with her father, who was taken into custody, police said.

The afternoon update came hours after Kentucky State Police issued an Amber Alert for Lela Black.

Troopers were called to the child’s home in Princeton on Sunday and found that her mother, Kelly Black, had been fatally shot, police said in a statement.

Authorities said they believed the girl was with her father, Byron Black, and that an arrest warrant had been issued against him for murder in the slaying of Kelly Black. The man and girl had last been heard from Friday, according to the alert.

No further information was immediately released, including whether Byron Black has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.