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- An Amber Alert in Riverdale was canceled after two abducted children were found.
- The children were reportedly taken by their father after a fatal mobile home fire.
- Police linked the abduction to the fire, deeming the death suspicious and investigating.
RIVERDALE, Weber County — An Amber Alert has been canceled after two children who police say were abducted by their father were found safe and returned to family members on Monday evening.
Police said the children were taken after their mother was found dead in a mobile home fire on Monday. Police are calling the death a homicide.
The Amber Alert, issued at 5:15 p.m., said two children, ages 2 and 3, were abducted from Riverdale, Weber County, and were believed to be in danger. The alert was canceled about 8:20 p.m.
Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren said officers found the father after receiving a call about the vehicle he was driving at a Springville canyon. The man is in police custody.
The children have been safely returned to family, Warren added.
Police had been searching for Ricardo Rojel Trujillo, the children's father, who they believed abducted them.
Shortly after the Amber Alert was issued, police confirmed it was connected to a fatal fire that occurred earlier in the day at a mobile home near 5100 South and 1050 West in Riverdale. Upon arrival, firefighters located a woman deceased in the fire.
Warren said no other people were found in the fire. He said the death was deemed suspicious, so police tried to locate the children and the boyfriend of the woman.
An Amber Alert was issued shortly after the woman was found, and Warren said investigators believe Trujillo took them.
The Riverdale Estates Mobile Park was flooded with officers and investigators from all different agencies on Monday.
"It's a great place to live. I would never suspect anything to take place like this where I'm at," said Sammy Beckstead who lives just a few doors down from where the mother was found dead. "Oh, I'm devastated, I'm so devastated."
Elizabeth Ortiz is a friend of the victim's younger sister. She would go to the house often to hang out with the family.
"I'm really sorry for her sister. I'm just really shocked," Ortiz said. "She was really kind and welcoming. She kind of felt like a second mom."
"I'm going to say a prayer for those kids because those kids deserve to have justice regardless of what ends up happening. Their justice is what matters most," Beckstead said.
Trujillo was sentenced to 180 days in prison in 2021 for an assault conviction related to choking and punching his girlfriend who was pregnant, according to court documents.
Contributing: Dan Rascon
Domestic violence resources
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- YWCA Utah Survivor Services: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
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