Authorities said on Sunday that a New Jersey woman and her 2-year-old son were found dead in Tennessee on Saturday night after being kidnapped by the boy’s father earlier this week. , Kidnapped 24-year-old Yasmine Uyar and her child. Authorities said they found the boy and Rios in Monterey, Tennessee, early on Saturday morning. However, Uyar is still missing. Authorities said on Sunday that his body was later found in a wooded area near I-40. Uyar’s mother Karen Uyar also confirmed that her daughter’s body had been found. He said on Saturday that he would travel to Tennessee to meet his grandson.
“My family would like to share that at 8:15 last night we were notified that Yasemin’s remains had been located in TN. While my family grieves the loss of Yasemin please remember she wasn’t just a [domestic violence] victim. She was a daughter, sister, mother, aunt, and cousin. Her life will be celebrated as her greatest gift to this world, Sebastian will still need ALL of our love and support. While I’m sure you are all needing details (as are we) I’m asking to please give us this day to grieve privately as a family. We will continue to share information, including funeral arrangements as we confirm them,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
According to the Lianhe County Attorney’s Office, the police arrested Rios and initially charged him with first-degree kidnapping. He is expected to be extradited to New Jersey and face additional criminal charges in the Union County Superior Court. In Highland Park, New Jersey, where Karen Uyar lives, a vigil was held for her daughter on Saturday night. Friends and family gathered at the Reformed Church in Highland Park to pray for her.
“We were extremely relieved to know Sebastian was safe and we were relieved that Tyler was in custody but our focus, besides getting Sebastian back from Tennessee, is to find Yasmin,” Karen Uyar had said.
According to the authorities, the terrible and heartbreaking experience of the family began on Friday, when the 24-year-old mother did not go to work and the child did not stay in the daycare center.
After the Amber Alert was issued, police from different places, states, and federal agencies began frantically searching the couple, believing that Rios kidnapped them. Karen Uyar told PIX11 News on Friday that Ríos and her daughter have known each other since high school, but have not been a couple since their son was born. He said his daughter was attacked by Rios several times and issued a restraining order against her.
“We tried really hard to get Yasmin to leave him but she was trying to co-parent with him and he often thought they were getting back together,” Karen Uyar said.
According to Karen Uyal, Uyal plans to move out of her apartment this weekend and move to a place where Rios can’t find her or her son. She thinks this may be the cause of the kidnapping.
“She was actually in the process of moving,” Karen Uyar said on Friday. “We normally speak every day but I didn’t speak with her yesterday because she was busy packing and I didn’t want to bother.”
Anyone with information about the case should call District Attorney Lt. Johnny Ho at 908-403-8271, or Detective Richard Acosta at 908-347-0404.
