Abducted Round Rock girls, person of interest spotted in Colorado

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- (KXAN) -- As the Round Rock Police Department continues to track down leads on where two missing girls could be, new surveillance video from a store in southern Colorado confirms Terry Miles was at the store on Saturday, Dec. 30 -- the day before Tonya Bates' body was found inside her home by police.

In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief Allen Banks said the tips that they have received took his officers and federal agents to Trinidad, Colo., a town just north of the New Mexico border. Video from a local business captured Miles but the video did not show him with the two girls, 7-year-old Lulu Bandera-Margret and 14-year-old Lili Griffith.

“That's not to say they weren't in the car or anywhere else,” said Banks, who added that other tips have placed the girls with Miles, even as recently as Wednesday.

“Based on his criminal history, it's obviously a huge concern,” replied Banks when asked about Miles' extensive and violent criminal history. “That's why our focus is to bring those girls home safely.”

RRPD discontinued the Amber Alert for the girls in Texas Wednesday morning, however, the Amber Alert is still active in the other states where they have been spotted.

Police say Miles, 44, is still considered a person of interest in the homicide investigation of Tonya Bates, the girls' mother. Authorities have not released how she died, but a law enforcement agency in Louisiana told KXAN she was beaten to death, similar to another case Miles was connected to in that state.

Authorities believe Miles is still driving a gray 2017 Hyundai Accent with Texas license plate number JGH9845. The vehicle has a hatchback with a white sticker on the upper right-hand corner of the rear window.

If located, police said to not approach him. Instead, contact the Round Rock Police Department at (512) 218-5516 or 911.