A man was arrested Friday after killing the mother of his children and abducting the young girls in Berlin, New Hampshire, prompting an Amber Alert and manhunt that ended miles away, authorities said.
Dustin Duren, 37, faces a charge of second-degree murder for the killing of Caitlyn Naffziger, authorities said. She was found shot in the head in a Main Street apartment.
The children were found safe about 11 a.m. Friday outside an Applebee's restaurant in Keene, where bystanders reported the white Subaru he was driving. The children were safe.
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Friday afternoon, the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office referred to Duren and Naffziger as the parents of the two young girls.
"Can't indicate whether they were present when their mom was shot. I can say that they were found, they are safe, and they're being cared for," Assistant Attorney General Bethany Durand said during a press conference.
An autopsy determined Naffziger, 31, was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, state prosecutors said. The manner of death was homicide.
"The Department of Justice greatly thanks the public for their assistance in this matter and their responsiveness to the alert issued earlier by the New Hampshire State Police," the office said in a statement earlier Friday.
Police sought Dustin Duren and a white Subaru Impreza
An alert was sent to the phones of New Hampshire residents shortly after 4 a.m. Friday saying that police were looking for a white 2017 Subaru Impreza with a New Hampshire license plate driven by Duren.
He was believed to have been with his two young daughters, and last known to be in Concord, New Hampshire, about 8 p.m. Thursday.
Anyone who saw the Durens or his vehicle had been asked not to approach them but to call 911 immediately, as Dustin was believed to be armed and dangerous, state police said.
Duren's arrest outside a Keene Applebee's
Tonya Hansen witnessed Duren's arrest in Keene, about 170 miles from their initial investigation.
She recorded video of officers pointing guns at the white Subaru and Duren exit the car with his hands in the air, then slowly back toward the officers.
"The man complied with all the officers' requests," she recalled. "Further officers pulled up and they were able to get the man out of the car and get him down to the ground safely."
Officers then removed the two children from the vehicle, whom Hansen described as looking "distraught" but apparently safe.
The children were being cared for by law enforcement on Friday, officials said.
Death of Caitlyn Naffziger
Naffziger, 32, was found dead by police officers called to an apartment on Main Street off Iceland Street about 10:30 p.m., according to Attorney General John Formella. The manner of her death wasn't described but investigators are calling it suspicious.
They said the Amber Alert was issued as part of the investigation.
The relationship between Naffziger and the children wasn't immediately clear. Her autopsy was still being conducted Friday afternoon.
If anyone has non-emergency information, they were asked to call Berlin police at 603-752-3131 or New Hampshire State Police headquarters at 603-223-4381.
