The Kings County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Amber Alert for two young girls reportedly taken by their father after their mother’s body was found in their Hanford home.  Detectives were dispatched Tuesday afternoon to conduct a welfare check at a home on Fourth Place near Tenth Avenue where they found a woman shot to death.  The suspect is identified as Jonathan Maldonado-Cruz, 23, of Hanford who is believed to have left the home early Tuesday morning with his daughters Alana Maldonado, 2, and Arya Maldonado, 3.

The Amber Alert was issued out of Kings County and was expanded to include Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, San Diego, and Imperial Counties near the Mexican border. 

Jonathan Maldonado is 5’9”, 215 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes.

He’s believed to be driving a gray-colored 2020 Hyundai Elantra, California, license plate number 8LZD084.

Maldonado should be considered armed and dangerous.