Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a Southern California couple who vanished along with three young children in what the Los Angeles Police Department called a possible kidnapping case.
Police are searching for Esteban and Liliana Lopez and their three young children: 9-year-old Jakob; 6-year-old Steven; and 5-year-old Stephana. Esteban Lopez was separated from his wife Liliana and not living at the home north of Los Angeles, police said.
He is the father of the two younger children, police said. Lopez is described as Latino, age 28, 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He has a tattoo of "Lopez" on his chest.
Police were called out to the Lopez family's home Wednesday night around 9:30 p.m. Neighbors said officers were wearing helmets and carrying shields as they approached the home that the family had rented for a few months on Fellows Avenue.
No one was at the home.
Authorities are also looking for the family's white 1996 Chevy Tahoe with California license plate 3RSR716, and a Grey Lexus 350 IS with California license plate 7JOM377. The SUV has a raised suspension and black rims.
Neighbors said the family's dog is gone, too.
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Police hope the public will help investigators find the three children and their parents.
The LAPD wouldn't say who the initial 911 call came from, only that it led them to believe that this was a possible kidnapping.
An Amber alert was not issued for the three children.
