CAITLYN MARIE VIRTS - 11 yo - / Suspect: Father, Timothy Howard Virts - Dundalk, MD

DUNDALK, Md. - An Amber Alert has been issued for an 11-year-old Dundalk girl, last seen at 7 a.m. Thursday.


Caitlyn Marie Virts was last seen in Dundalk in the company of Timothy Virts, 38, who was operating a 1999 Dodge Durango with MD tag 5AJ4458.

Caitlyn is described as a white female, approximately 5 feet tall and 80 pounds. She also may be wearing glasses.

Maryland State Police issued the alert at the request of Baltimore County Police. The child is believed to have been abducted by the suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to immediately call 911 or Baltimore County Police Department at 410-887-7320. Do not take action which could endanger your safety or further endanger the abducted child.

http://www.abc2news.com/news/region/baltimore-county/amber-alert-issued-for-missing-dundalk-girl


I'm glad it was not a stranger. Can't find anymore information yet but she was last seen at 7:30 and the alert wasn't issued until 11:00 - don't know why.

9:36 p.m. EST, March 6, 2014

Police believe the father of an 11-year-old girl abducted her from the Dundalk home where her mother was found dead Thursday morning, and they launched a search that by nightfall extended from Baltimore to West Virginia.

Authorities issued an Amber Alert for Caitlyn Marie Virts, flashed her smiling, bespectacled image on billboards throughout the region and told motorists to be on the lookout for a black SUV. Investigators believe the girl is with her father, 38-year-old Timothy Virts.

"He is not supposed to have her, and we are concerned for her safety," police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said. She did not say why authorities are concerned.

The girl's mother, Bobbie Jo Cortez, 36, was found dead shortly after 9 a.m. in what police said was a violent scene at their home in the 3100 block of Ardee Way. Police said the death is being investigated as a homicide but did not say how Cortez died.

Police said Virts is a suspect in the abduction and investigators "want to talk to him" about Cortez's death.

The parents had separated and Cortez married another man, police said, but Virts had been staying at the home in recent weeks. Three children also lived there, including Caitlyn's twin sister and another boy, police said.

Caitlyn is 5 feet tall, weighs 80 pounds and might be wearing glasses, police said. Timothy Virts is 6-foot-3 and weighs 280 pounds. Both are white.

Police are looking for a black 1999 Dodge Durango with Maryland tag No. 5AJ4458. The vehicle is registered to 38-year-old Daniel Williams Cortez, who is married to Bobbie Jo and has been in jail since December on sex offense charges.

Daniel Cortez was convicted in 2009 of a fourth-degree sex offense, according to state records, and is on the state's sex offender registry. He was indicted again Wednesday on additional sex offense charges.

"Our detectives do not believe at this time that Cortez's criminal history is related to this homicide," Armacost told The Baltimore Sun.

An attorney for Cortez could not be reached for comment.

Timothy Virts' father said he learned that his granddaughter was missing when he saw the Amber Alert, which was issued at 10:45 a.m.

Peter Virts, 63, said he called Bobbie Jo Cortez's phone to find out what was going on, but his grandson answered.

"Pop pop, I can't talk right now," the boy said, and handed the phone to a detective, according to Virts.

Cortez was already dead. Virts said the boy "knew, but he couldn't say."

Peter Virts, speaking outside his East Baltimore rowhome, said he had no idea where his son might have taken the girl. He urged him to call and let him go pick her up.

He described Caitlyn as a "daddy's girl."

"I just want him to bring the baby home," he said.

A police cruiser sat in the driveway of the gray one-story house on Ardee Way late Thursday. A tire swing rotated in the wind in the front yard, a dented children's lacrosse stick lay in the snow, and there was considerable damage to the slats in the closed blinds in several of the windows.

Bobbie Jo Cortez lived in the home with Caitlyn, her twin sister and a son. The twin and the son are safe with family members, police said.

Two other adults also lived in the home, Armacost said. She did not identify them.

Neighbors said Daniel Cortez had lived in the house until he was arrested in December.

Neighbor Patricia Jones said her children used to play with Caitlyn and her twin sister. She said Caitlyn was shy and didn't speak much. She said the Jones family limited contact between the households after Cortez's arrest.

When Timothy Virts moved in recently, no one at the Jones household knew who he was. The girls introduced him as "our new dad." He wore black leather clothing as he held the girls' hands and carried them on his shoulders.

Tina Jones, who lives with Patricia and is an aunt to her children, said she heard nothing out of the ordinary Thursday morning and woke to see the neighborhood swarming with police cars.

Officers, called to the house on a report of a cardiac arrest, arrived to find Bobbie Jo Cortez dead, Armacost said.

Court records show Timothy Virts has been involved in two custody disputes. Bobbie Jo Cortez was awarded sole custody of Caitlyn and her twin sister in 2011, though court records say both she and Timothy Virts were found to be "fit and proper parents."

In 2012, Virts was ordered to stay away from someone whose name is redacted from court records. No lawyer was listed in online files from the previous case.

Peter Virts said that he had not spoken to his son in more than a year and that Timothy Virts did not have a good relationship with anyone in his family.

In 2012, Peter Virts sought a protective order from his son. He wrote in court papers that Timothy had threatened him with violence.

Timothy Virts would sometimes spend weekends with his twin daughters, according to his father. The older Virts, who said he adopted some of Timothy Virts' other children, wants the twin girls to live with him once the ordeal is over.

Mindy Lopez, Bobbie Jo Cortez's stepsister, said the two had lost touch with recently.

"She was a good-hearted person," said Lopez, who lives in Arbutus. "She definitely didn't deserve this. … "She loved her kids to death."

The Center for Missing & Exploited Children is asking anyone with information to immediately call 911 or Baltimore County Police Department at 410-887-7320.

"Do not take action which could endanger your safety or further endanger the abducted child," the center said.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/dundalk/bs-md-amber-alert-20140306,0,5742843.story#ixzz2vFTgFred

This story has me confused - How did the mother get custody if her new husband (Cortez) is a registered sex offender (4th degree offense), and having her ex-husband stay with them was not a good idea. Also wonder why the grandfather wants custody of the twin girls but not the brother? Maybe the boy is a half-brother but it certainly would be nice if the siblings could be together.

AMBER ALERT: 11-Year-Old Caitlyn Virts Missing From Baltimore County
11-year-old Caitlyn Marie Virts last seen in Dundalk; police searching for 1999 black Dodge Durango with Maryland plates 5AJ4458

Thursday, Mar 6, 2014  
Updated 11:17 PM EST

An Amber alert issued for an 11-year-old Maryland girl is related to a homicide investigation at the girl's home, Baltimore County Police said.

Caitlyn Marie Virts was last seen around 7 a.m. Thursday in Dundalk, Md. Police believe the girl was abducted by her father Timothy Virts, 38. Authorities are calling this a child abduction emergency, adding that Caitlyn is "not supposed to be with her father." The search was extended to West Virginia late Thursday evening.

According to police, Caitlyn's mother was found dead inside a home in the 3100 block of Ardee Way in Dundalk at 9:13 a.m. The department's homicide unit is conducting a death investigation.

Caitlyn is missing from the same address; an Amber alert was issued at 10:46 a.m.

Police are searching for a 1999 black Dodge Durango with Maryland license plates 5AJ4458.

Caitlyn is described as a white female, 5 feet tall and 80 pounds. She may be wearing glasses.

Timothy Virts is described as a white male, 6'3" and 280 pounds.

Anyone with information or who believes they have seen the Verts or vehicle should not intervene, but immediately call 911, #77 or the Baltimore County Police Department at 410-887-7320.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/AMBER-ALERT-11-Year-Old-Missing-From-Baltimore-County-248812291.html

I've made a paragraph bold that has pertinent "Cortez" update.

DUNDALK, Md. (WJLA) - Caitlyn Virts is 11 years old, and police believe she is currently in the custody of her biological father, Timothy Virts. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall and 280 pounds. They are reportedly in a 1999 black Dodge Durango with Maryland tags: 5AJ4458


According to police, finding them may be a matter of life and death.

"We know he is not supposed to have this child, so we have good reason to be concerned about her safety," says Elise Armacost, spokesperson for the Baltimore County Police.

Custody issues may be the least of their concerns, however, as police found Caitlyn’s mother, 36-year-old Bobbie Joe Cortez dead in the family home in Dundalk at about 9 a.m. on Thursday morning. ,

She was murdered, but officers won’t confirm exactly how.

As that investigation continues, family members are reporting that the girl and Virts were missing and an Amber Alert was subsequently issued. According to police, Virts – who had battled Cortez for custody of their children – had been staying at the home for the last few weeks.

The Dodge Durango he is believed to have stolen belongs to the missing girl’s stepfather, Daniel Cortez. He is a registered sex offender who did live at the home, but is now in jail. He was indicted on Wednesday for child sex abuse. Whether those allegations are connected to Thursday’s incident is unknown.

Now as word spreads about the murder and worry about the abduction grows, friends of Cortez have gathered at the home as detectives work the crime scene and piece together what happened.

"She's like a sister to me, I've known her for over 20 years. I can't talk, I can't, I'm still crying and I can't, I'm sorry," says Michelle, the victim's co-worker.

"She's a good person and everthing -- a hard worker... worked for her kids everyday -- it's just a tragedy, it's terrible," adds a friend, Helen Orem.

Anyone with information should call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-7320 or 911.

Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/03/amber-alert-caitlyn-marie-virts-100857.html#ixzz2vIViBJJm
Follow us: @ABC7News on Twitter | WJLATV on Facebook

Just a lot of speculation, but if the father took Caitlyn because of the "sex offense" and even if he is the one that killed the mother for bringing a SO into the home and exposing his children like this, then I don't blame him.

Bobbie Jo Cortez 36 yo- found murdered in home

Missing - Caitlyn Marie Virts

Also living at the home, was Daniel Cortez, a convicted sex offender who was charged on March 5 in another child sex assault case involving someone who lived at Caitlyn's home. Cortez was married to Caitlyn's mother Bobbie. He is in jail. (Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services)

Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/news/2014/03/caitlyn-timothy-virts-bobbi-cortez-photos-pictures/3/

No code for his picture but you should see him!

Here he is:

 
Amber Alert Canceled; Missing 11-Year-Old Caitlyn Virts Found
Friday, Mar 7, 2014  |  Updated 10:54 PM EST

Timothy Howard Virts and his daughter Caitlyn Marie Virts have been found and an Amber Alert canceled, according to Baltimore County police and fire officials.

They were located at a motel in Florence, S.C. Caitlyn appears to be unharmed, and her father is in police custody.

Caitlyn, 11, had last been seen around 7 a.m. Thursday in Dundalk, Md.

Police announced Friday that they have obtained a warrant charging Timothy Virts with murder after finding 36-year-old Bobbie Jo Cortez dead inside her Dundalk home a day earlier.

Investigators believe expanding the Amber Alert nationally, including digital billboards, led to Caitlyn being found.

Investigators say Cortez lived in the home with her three children -- Caitlyn, Caitlyn's twin sister and a son -- and two other adults. For the past several weeks, the victim had also allowed 38-year-old Timothy Virts to live in the home, police said.

Someone in the home noticed Caitlyn and Timothy were missing after finding the body; an Amber alert was issued at 10:46 a.m. Thursday.

Police were looking for a 1999 black Dodge Durango with Maryland license plates 5AJ4458 that authorities said was registered to Cortez's husband, Daniel Williams Cotez, who is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on various sex offense charges.

Caitlyn will be returned home as soon as possible, police said. Detectives are on their way to South Carolina.

Timothy Virts' return is pending extradition.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/AMBER-ALERT-11-Year-Old-Missing-From-Baltimore-County-248812291.html

That's what most of us would like to do to a woman who serves up her children as victims for their perverted boyfriends.  It's a shame he acted on his impulse though.  Now his daughter won't have him to depend on, she has no one.

If the mother had been in jail where she belonged this couldn't have happened.

Missing Dundalk girl reunited with twin sister in Maryland, family says

(This article has Daniel Cortez being in jail since December - with charges not related to the abduction.)

6:45 p.m. EDT, March 9, 2014

The 11-year-old Dundalk girl found after a frantic, multistate search has been reunited with her twin sister, family members said Sunday.

Caitlyn Virts and her twin sister, Cayla, were back together in the care of Baltimore County social services workers, according to the twins' grandmother, Anna Trainor-Goodwin. Police found Caitlyn in a Florence, S.C., hotel Friday after issuing an Amber Alert and fielding thousands of tips.

"I'm hoping and praying that they let me have them," said Trainor-Goodwin, who lives near Patterson Park in Baltimore. "They said they want to be with me. They miss me."

The girls' father, Timothy Virts, 38, of Dundalk, is being held in South Carolina. He faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of the twins' mother, Bobbie Jo Cortez. Police there said the earliest Virts could get a court hearing is Monday.

Family members said Cayla found her mother dead in bed Thursday morning and called 911. Police said the 36-year-old had been bound with duct tape and stabbed to death in bed at her home in the 3100 block of Ardee Way in Dundalk. Within a couple of hours, authorities realized that Caitlyn was missing and activated the Amber Alert, worried about her well-being in Virts' hands.

Baltimore County police said Sunday they would have no additional comments on the case until Monday. Officers have said that Virts will be extradited to face prosecution in Maryland. The process could take weeks, police said.

The father and daughter were found a day after they checked in at a small South Carolina motel more than 400 miles from Caitlyn's home. Colonial Inn co-owner Carol Gause called officers after seeing the pair's pictures posted on Facebook within a news story about the search. Virts' arrest came without incident and authorities said Caitlyn did not appear to have been physically harmed.

Trainor-Goodwin said she's not sure if Caitlyn knows about her mother's death.

"I'm hoping social services gets a hold of me and lets me know I can have the kids," she said. "I want to move into a house closer to the kids' school."

After investigators found what they suspected was the murder weapon at Cortez's Dundalk home, police obtained an arrest warrant for first-degree murder. Virts was charged based on interviews with others in the house and physical evidence from the scene, police said.

Virts fled in a black 1999 Dodge Durango with bumper stickers of the region's football teams and one that said, "Protected by witchcraft." The SUV was registered to Cortez's husband, 38-year-old Daniel Williams Cortez, who's been jailed since December on sex offense charges. Baltimore County police said the charges are not related to the alleged abduction.

During the search, Baltimore County police fielded "thousands" of leads and the FBI placed Timothy Virts on the agency's wanted list.

Social services officials were working with Caitlyn to make decisions about where the girl would be placed after coordinating with her family, police said.

Funeral arrangements for Bobbie Jo Cortez have not been finalized, said Cortez's father, Daniel Wallace.

He, too, said he hopes Trainor-Goodwin is awarded custody, and he pledged to help raise the girls.

"Any time they call me, I will be there," said Wallace who lives in the Carrollton Ridge section of Baltimore. "No matter what. I will be there."

Wallace said Sunday he missed his daughter very much.

"She was sunshine," he said. "She always happy. She was very trusting. She loved her children. She cherished her children. There was nothing in this world she wouldn't do for them."

He said Cortez used to call him during her lunch breaks at her job as a supervisor for a medical supply company.

"I used to talk to my daughter all the time," he said. "That's another thing I'm going to miss. I don't have anybody to call like that anymore."

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/dundalk/bs-md-virts-update-20140309,0,5491069.story#ixzz2vVlAWMVH

Timothy Virts Indicted In Amber Alert Murder Case


Monday, April 21, 2014






A Baltimore County grand jury has indicted a Dundalk man in the murder of the mother of his children and the kidnapping of his daughter.

WBAL Radio has obtained the indictment for Timothy Virts. He has been indicted on nine counts in the case that involved a nationwide Amber Alert.  The 38-year-old is also charged with the attempted sexual offense and attempted sex abuse of a minor relative. Virts has also been indicted on kidnapping charges involving Caitlyn.

Read the indictment from Baltimore County Circuit Court


Police say Bobbie Jo Cortez' body was found in her Ardee Way home on March 6th. Police say she had been stabbed to death.

Virts was found along with his daughter Caitlyn at a motel in South Carolina on March 7th.

Police say Virts was not allowed to be with his daughter.

Virts is behind bars at the Baltimore County Detention Center.



http://www.wbal.com/article/106775/2/timothy-virts-indicted-in-amber-alert-murder-case