14 in Dundalk, MD (Update: Maryland Girl F Safe in Florence, SC … Timothy Howard Virts Arrested)

An AMBER ALERT was issued for 11 year old Caitlyn Marie Virts who had been missing sunce Thursday, March 6, 2014 in Dundalk, MD. Caitlyn was last seen in the 3100 block of Ardee Way in Dundalk at approximately 7 a.m. Thursday.When police arrived to the home of the missing girl after some one in the home had reported a cardiac arrest, they found Caitlyn’s mother, 36 year old Bobbie Jo Cortez, deceased in her bedroom. Police believe Caitlyn was abducted by her father, Timothy Howard Virts, who police said was not supposed to have contact with her. An arrest warrant had been issued for Timothy Howard Virts in connection with her death.

The 11 year old Maryland girl is said to be traveling with her father, 38 year old Timothy Howard Virts, and believed to be driving a lack 1999 Dodge Durango with Maryland license plates 5AJ4458.

Caitlyn Marie Virts

An Amber Alert has been issued by the Maryland State Police in reference to an 11-year-old female missing from the Dundalk area and Baltimore County police say she is connected to a homicide investigation.

Caitlyn Marie Virts was last seen in the 3100 block of Ardee Way in Dundalk at approximately 7 a.m. Thursday. She is described as a white female, 5 feet tall, 80 pounds, and possibly wearing glasses. It is unknown what she might be wearing.

Caitlyn is believed to be with her father, Timothy Howard Virts. He is described as a 38-year-old white male, 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds. He should be driving a black 1999 Dodge Durango with Maryland license plates 5AJ4458.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-7320 or 911.

UPDATE I: Bobbie Jo Cortez’s death investigated by police as a homicide.

Cortez’s death is being investigated as a homicide. Police said Friday that Cortez died as a result of sharp force injury and that she had multiple cut wounds to her upper body. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday for her official cause of death.

Detectives have confirmed that Cortez was alive Wednesday and that she lived at the house with three children — Caitlyn, her twin sister and a boy — and two adults whose relationships with the victim have not been verified.

“The (other) children are safe and in custody of family members at an undisclosed location,” Baltimore County police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said.

Police said they believe the children and the two other adults were in the house when Cortez was killed, Armacost said Friday.

Timothy Virts Arrested

UPDATE III: Caitlyn Marie Virts found safe in Florence, SC … Timothy Howard Virts Arrested.

The Baltimore County girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert has been located, authorities said Friday night.

“We found her,” the Baltimore County police said of the 11-year-old girl, Caitlyn Marie Virts.

She was found unharmed in a motel in Florence, S.C., the police said. Also found there was the man the FBI said was her father, Timothy Howard Virts.

An arrest warrant had been issued for the father, in connection with the death of her mother, Bobbie Jo Cortez, 36, of Dundalk, Md., the county police said earlier.

Missing Maryland Girl Found; Father Charged With Murder.

The girl was found unharmed, according to a statement by the Baltimore County Police Department.

“Detectives will be traveling to South Carolina as soon as possible to continue the investigation,” said Corp. John Wachter in a statement.

#Virts is in police custody and will be returned to Maryland “pending an extradition process,” the statement said. Police hope to return the girl home as soon as possible.