Twins CINDY and MINDY KING - 12 yo (9/2011) - Alexander Cty/ Hickory NC

TAYLORSVILLE --
The Alexander County Sheriff’s Office and the Alexander County Department of Social Services have been working together to find a pair of 12-year-old twins missing since September. On Friday night, that search came to an end.

“Their aunt turned herself in to the sheriff’s office about five minutes ago,” said Chief Deputy Tod Jones at about 6:45 p.m. “She brought the twins back and turned them over to DSS.”

The surrender came the evening after a morning press conference hosted by the sheriff’s office and DSS. They held the conference to spread the word that they considered the children at-risk and two warrants for contributing to the delinquency of a minor had been issued for the arrest of Daris James – the twins’ paternal aunt and the last person to be seen with the girls.

“We think that once the word got out that the heat was on, she decided to give herself up,” Jones said.

DSS refused to clarify why Cindy and Mindy King were considered at-risk.

Alexander County Sheriff Chris Bowman said that James, had custody of the children before the family moved to Hiddenite from Carter County, Tennessee in 2002. James lost custody of the children on Sept. 9, 2011, and was ordered to surrender the girls to Alexander County DSS.

That never happened. James disappeared with the girls. The last time the authorities saw them was in late November 2011. James and her nieces were spotted by an off-duty Alexander County deputy who saw her at a Wilkes County Walmart with the girls. They were gone by the time local authorities showed up.

On Jan. 5, James’ ex-husband, Shirley James, was summoned to Alexander Juvenile Court. The judge ordered him to tell where his ex-wife and his nieces were. James refused and was cited with contempt. He sat in jail for 30 days rather than tell the authorities what they wanted to know.

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2012/feb/24/missing-twins-handed-over-dss-ar-1970064/