Police seek woman, abducted children
A 29-year-old woman who had lost custody of her five children abducted them Saturday in the parking lot of the county's emergency shelter for abused and neglected children, Las Vegas police confirmed Tuesday.
Police said Nashana Islas was last seen Saturday near Pecos and Bonanza roads as a passenger in a newer model gray Honda with Nevada plates. Police said Islas might be traveling to Mexico to visit family.
Her children range in age from 2 to 9.
The Metropolitan Police Department's Missing Persons Detail is investigating.
Police spokeswoman Laura Meltzer said that because Islas had lost custody of her children, she could face felony charges that include kidnapping.
Meltzer said the abduction happened before a "court-ordered supervised visitation."
Clark County Department of Family Services spokeswoman Christine Skorupski said the incident occurred about 11 a.m. in the parking lot of the Child Haven campus, 601 N. Pecos Road.
Child Haven has facilities specifically for visits between children, their biological parents and their foster parents. The visitations are supervised. Islas' children do have foster parents, Skorupski said.
Child Haven does have security measures in place for parents who are considered flight risks, Skorupski said. Islas was not considered a high-risk parent who would flee with her children.
"There was no indication that this mother posed any threat or was a flight risk," Skorupski said. "She participated in numerous visitations without incident."
Because of confidentiality laws, Skorupski couldn't disclose why Islas had lost custody of her children.
Skorupski also didn't have records available late Tuesday afternoon to confirm when Islas' children entered foster care.
Islas is 5 feet 5 inches tall with brown eyes and black hair. She weighs about 200 pounds, police said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Islas and her children are urged to call the Metropolitan Police Department's Missing Persons Detail at 828-3111 or 838-2907.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
