Amber Alert canceled after kids found safe in S.C.

COLUMBIA (AP) — Two girls who police say were abducted by their father after he stabbed their mother were found safe Friday afternoon in South Carolina, authorities said.

The girls, who were the subject of an Amber Alert issued Thursday evening, were found at a Lancaster apartment complex where investigators think Gerardo Reyes-Campos left them.

"He just kinda dropped them off," Lancaster County Sheriff's Maj. David Belk said.

Destiny Reyes, 1, and Melanie Reyes, 3, were found after an anonymous call to police about 3 p.m. Friday, Belk said. The girls were unharmed.

Authorities originally thought Reyes-Campos was headed to North Carolina. Now they think he went south toward Columbia. The State Law Enforcement Division, which issues Amber Alerts, said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

The search for Reyes-Campos and the girls began Thursday evening after a neighbor reported a possible stabbing to authorities. Police found Diane Madisol Trejo, 22, stabbed in the neck and hands, SLED spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said. Trejo was flown from Lancaster to a Columbia hospital, where she was in critical but stable condition Friday.

Reyes-Campos has a criminal record in South Carolina dating back to 1996 that includes arrests for drunken driving, public drunkenness, criminal domestic violence and cocaine possession. Authorities say urge anyone who sees Reyes-Campos to call 911 or the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office. Reyes-Campos was thought to be driving a tan 2000 Isuzu Trooper with South Carolina tags BJD-238.

Reyes-Campos, who is in the country illegally, was deported to Mexico in September and authorities were not aware that he had returned to the U.S., Belk said.