FBI Investigating Death of 2-Year-Old Girl, Father

Dad took toddler after mom was awarded custody
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 14, 2011 1:44 PM CDT
FBI Investigating Death of 2-Year-Old Madeline Samaan-Fay, Father Mourad 'Moni' Samaan
In this undated file photo released by the Federal Bureau Of Investigation, Mourad Samaan is shown.   ((AP Photo/Federal Bureau Of Investigation))

The bodies of a missing 2-year-old Sacramento girl and her father were discovered last night in the man's vehicle, nearly a week after he took her during a child custody dispute, authorities say. Madeline Samaan-Fay and Mourad "Moni" Samaan, 49, were found dead in his green Toyota 4Runner in a rural area near Placerville, about 45 miles northeast of the capital. Investigators still haven't determined the cause and time of the deaths. FBI agents and investigators from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department were on the scene late yesterday. The investigation was expected to last throughout the weekend.

Madeline was taken by her father last Sunday after her mother was granted custody of the toddler. The FBI issued an AMBER alert Friday. The father and daughter were last seen in a Sacramento Raley's grocery store Sunday. Since then, Samaan had cut off all communication with friends and family members. He was served the day before with a notice that the girl's mother was awarded full custody of their daughter, ending what had been a joint custody arrangement. He then failed to return the child to her mother as expected. (More FBI stories.)

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