Missing Delaware children found, father charged

Police have rescinded an Amber Alert for two missing Smynra, Del. children after they were found safe in southwestern Indiana.

Colette Hamilton, 4, and her brother Cortez Hamilton Jr., 4 months, were found traveling on Interstate 64 in a red Chevrolet Suburban driven by their father, 32-year-old Cortez Hamilton Sr., according to investigators.

Troopers in Warrick County, Ind. pulled the vehicle over around 7:30 p.m. Saturday after receiving a tip from Delaware authorities that the family might have been driving on the highway to St. Louis, Mo., Indiana State Police said in a news release.

Authorities arrested Cortez Hamilton Sr. on three warrants out of Delaware charging him with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of second-degree assault with serious bodily injury, police said.

More information about what prompted those charges was not immediately available. State police detectives in Delaware and Indiana were continuing to investigate.

Hamilton Sr. was imprisoned in the Warrick County Jail, where he was awaiting extradition to Delaware Sunday.

Colette and Cortez Hamilton Jr. were placed in the custody of the Warrick County Division of Child Services, police said.

Their mother, 35-year-old Keisha Hamilton, who was initially believed to be traveling with them, remained missing.

She was last seen with the two children around 10 p.m. Friday at their home on the 100 block of East Cayhill Lane in the Twin Willows development of Smyrna, according to investigators.

Delaware State Police issued a Gold Alert for Keisha Hamilton after the children were found, saying authorities were unable to contact her and were concerned for her safety. She is described as a 5-foot-6-inch tall black female of about 145 pounds with brown hair and eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Delaware State Police Sgt. David Weaver at 302-741-2728, or to call 911.