WATERVILLE — The estranged mother who is wanted for taking two of her children during a supervised visit on Thursday, is also traveling with a third child, Waterville police have said.
“[BethMarie Retamozzo] is believed to be traveling with 7-year-old Joslyn Retamozzo, 6-year-old Joel Retamozzo, and a 2-year-old Hispanic female child. The 2-year-old child is also BethMarie’s biological child; however, this child is legally in her custody,” according to a media statement issued Saturday morning by the Waterville Police Department.
The two older children have been in the court-ordered custody of their grandmother for several years, and police obtained an arrest warrant from Kennebec County Superior Court charging Retamozzo with two counts of Class C felony criminal restraint by a parent.
The warrants have been entered into the National Crime Information Center with a note that the Kennebec County district attorney’s office will extradite Retamozzo from anywhere in the United States to answer to the charges.
Retamozzo and the children were last seen traveling in a gray 1999 Nissan Quest minivan bearing New York registration ERE2647.
The children’s grandmother called police about 8:45 p.m. Thursday to report that Retamozzo, 34, had taken the children earlier in the day during a supervised visit.
The person supervising the visit allowed Retamozzo to put the children into her vehicle with the understanding that they would meet the supervisor at a park in Fairfield, Waterville police said Friday. Retamozzo and the children did not show up and have not been seen since.
Waterville detectives believe Retamozzo has left Maine and may be headed to New York or Florida. They say they are concerned that the children’s well-being is in danger but did not release specifics about the nature of the threat.
On Friday, Waterville police The Waterville Police Department has enlisted the assistance of the Maine Information Analysis Center, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, New York state law enforcement agencies and several other other entities in an attempt to locate Retamozzo and her children.
Police said BethMarie Retamozzo is described as a white woman, 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing approximately 130 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Joslyn Retamozzo is described as a black girl, 4 feet 6 inches tall, weighing approximately 80 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Joel Retamozzo is described as a white boy, 4 feet tall, weighing approximately 60 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes.
Anyone who believes they know the whereabouts of Retamozzo or her children is urged to call 911 and then the Waterville Police Department at 680-4700.
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