FBI New Orleans
Craig C. Betbeze
(504) 816-3274
January 24, 2018

Florida Fugitive Arrested in Baton Rouge by FBI After Abducting Four Children

BATON ROUGE—On Tuesday, January 24, 2018, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Jose Garcia Montes was arrested by the FBI Baton Rouge Resident Agency Office, with the assistance of East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, for kidnapping four children from Pensacola, Florida.

On January 23, 2018, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement initiated an investigation into the kidnapping of four young children (ages one, three, four, and six) from the vicinity of Pensacola, Florida. It was reported that although Montes was the father of three of the four children, he did not have any custodial rights over the children and had not been active in the children’s lives. After departing Florida, Montes contacted their biological mother via telephone, refused to return the children, and indicated he would kill himself and the children before giving them back.

Law enforcement successfully tracked Montes and eventually narrowed their search down to a construction site in the Baton Rouge area. To help expedite the investigation and help locate the missing children, the FBI Pensacola Office contacted Baton Rouge agents and requested they execute an arrest warrant on Jose Garcia Montes. He was arrested without incident and provided the location of the missing children.

All four children were safely recovered in a Baton Rouge residence and transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where they received medical attention. The children are being cared for by Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), until they can be reunited with their mother.

Montes was subsequently transported to the East Baton Rouge Correctional facility. He is awaiting extradition back to Florida, where he faces multiple federal charges, to include four counts of kidnapping.

This matter will be prosecuted by the State of Florida.

The allegations contained in this release are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.