RAHWAY, NJ – The mother of a young child who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Friday has been found dead, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Rahway Police Department Director Jonathan Parham jointly announced Sunday.
Tyler Rios, 27, of Highland Park is charged with first-degree kidnapping in connection with the alleged abduction of 2-year-old Sebastian Rios, and additional criminal charges are pending in connection with the death of 24-year-old Yasemin Uyar of Rahway.
An investigation led by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office led to Rios being identified as a suspect in the case after Sebastian Rios did not show up for daycare Friday and Uyar did not arrive for scheduled work shifts, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Grady, who is prosecuting the case. A welfare check was conducted on Uyar’s home by members of the Rahway Police Department Friday morning, but no one was found inside.
Shortly thereafter, the State Police issued an Amber Alert that was sent to privately owned cell phones, broadcast on electronic billboards along highways in New Jersey and beyond, and widely shared via social media.
Sebastian Rios was found unharmed in Monterey, Tennessee early on Saturday, when Tyler Rios was taken into custody without incident. Later in the day, investigators located Uyar’s body in a wooded area nearby, off of I-40.
Tyler Rios remains in custody in Tennessee pending extradition back to New Jersey, after which a first appearance and detention hearing will be scheduled to take place in Union County Superior Court.
Anyone with information about this matter is still urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Lt. Johnny Ho at 908-403-8271 or Detective Richard Acosta at 908-347-0404.
Convictions on first-degree kidnapping charges are commonly punishable by terms of 15 to 30 years in state prison.