HOUSTON - An Amber Alert continued Wednesday for a baby girl missing after her mom was found murdered in the Greenspoint area.
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UPDATE: Baby Shamali Flores has been found unharmed in southwest Houston apartment | Tap here to read more
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The FBI and Equusearch joined police in looking for 6-week-old Shamali Flores Wednesday.
Shamali's mother, identified as Carolina Flores, was found fatally stabbed Tuesday afternoon at an apartment complex on Goodson Road in northeast Houston.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information on Shamali's whereabouts and Carolina Flores' murder, HPD Chief Art Acevedo said in a press conference Wednesday.
He said investigators have a new theory about where the infant may be.
“We really believe based on what we’ve seen so far that this suspect who has this child is familiar with this family and familiar with this neighborhood. The individual who abducted Shamali may be a woman who has or will present the child as their own, and may even indicate the child was recently born. Think about anyone who has a child that you weren’t aware they were pregnant. Also think about people that may have lost a child recently. Women or families that may have lost a child recently. That might be someone we may be interested in talking to,” said Acevedo.
The newborn was initially believed to be with her father, Marcos Mariano Thomas Palacios.
Police earlier identified the father as Thomas Bernardez, which is one of the man’s aliases.
Palacios was located in San Antonio Tuesday night. He told police he was not involved in the crime. HPD investigators say he has been cooperative, so he was questioned and released.
Investigators spent Wednesday retracing their steps, looking for clues, interviewing neighbors once more, and checking dumpsters to see if they’ve missed anything.
Officials say Shamali is 30 inches long and 20 pounds, is believed to be Honduran and possibly of black or mixed race origin.
KHOU 11 News spoke with a maintenance worker who made the 911 call Wednesday morning. That worker claims she saw the mother alive up until 7 a.m. Tuesday, but doesn’t remember seeing anyone suspicious taking the little girl.
Anyone with information on Shamali's whereabouts or her mother's murder is urged to contact the Houston Police Department at 713-308-3600 or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
More details from MissingKids.org:
Missing Since Dec 19, 2017
Missing From Houston, TX
DOB Nov 8, 2017
Age Now 6 weeks old
Sex Female
Race Black
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Brown
Height 2'6"
Weight 20 lbs
Shanally was last seen in Houston, Texas on December 19, 2017.