Perry County children missing for two weeks

View Perry County missing children flier PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The last time Joanna "Nicki" Cummings saw her children, Christian M. Sanchez, 2, and Veronica N. Sanchez, 9 months, was when their father picked them up for his weekly custody visit more than two weeks ago.

The Perry County Sheriff's Department applied for a warrant for the arrest of Miguel Sanchez-Carmona, 26, of Mexico, on suspicion of parental kidnapping, said Capt. Delbert Riehn. No charges have yet been filed.

The situation did not meet the requirements necessary to issue an Amber Alert, said Reihn.

Cummings, 23, of Perryville said she had ended the three-year relationship with Miguel Sanchez-Carmona last October.

She said they never had a formal custody arrangement because she did not have the money to go to court, but she said the children would stay with Sanchez-Carmona on alternate weeks.

Cummings said Sanchez-Carmona told her he'd taken a job in St. Louis, but she said he had returned after a few weeks, telling her he missed his children.

Carmona-Sanchez picked up Veronica and Christian as scheduled on July 8, Cummings said. When he didn't bring them back the following Sunday night, Cummings said she thought he was confused about what day he was supposed to return the children.

"I was going crazy by 4 a.m., [Monday]" Cummings said.

Cummings, who is a certified nursing assistant at Perry Oaks Manor in Perryville, said she didn't know where her children's father had been living after he moved out and could not reach him by phone.

Sanchez-Carmona was last seen July 10 in Cape Girardeau by co-workers at El Torero Restaurant on William Street. She said he had waited tables but is no longer employed there.

Riehn said the sheriff's department has several leads on his whereabouts but declined to disclose them.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of these three people should contact the Perry County Sheriff's Dept. at (573) 547-4576.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611 Ex-245