Mother wanted for abducting daughter, pepper spraying caseworker in Indio

Indio Police are seeking a mother who is wanted for abducting her 16-year-old daughter and pepper spraying a social worker in Indio.

The teen was in the process of being released from the care of Child Protective Services at the Telecare mental health care facility located at 47915 Oasis Street in Indio into the care of Child Protective Services based in Long Beach, when Latasha Dove approached and allegedly pepper sprayed a caseworker who was escorting her daughter.

Dove and the 16-year-old juvenile then fled in a 1993 Ford Escort station wagon. Dove is believed to be traveling to Los Angeles or Long Beach area.

Dove is described as a 5′ 9″ African American female weighing 135 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Dove was last seen wearing a dark-colored hooded zip-up sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.

The license plate number of the suspect vehicle is 7UVU496. The child was a ‘ward of the court’.

Despite the alleged use of pepper spray by Dove, no one was injured, according to Administrative Officer Benjamin Guitron of the Indio Police Department.

The incident information did not meet Amber Alert criteria, according to an Indio Police Department news release, and confirmed by Guitron.

The criteria that triggers the initiation of an Amber Alert are as following, according to the California Highway Patrol:

California AMBER Alerts are initiated solely by California law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies must follow strict activation criteria before an alert is activated. The agency’s administration must give approval before initiating an AMBER Alert. The primary consideration in the development of the activation criteria was the identification of those abducted children who are at the greatest risk of serious bodily injury or death.

In order for the California AMBER Alert Plan to be activated, law enforcement must be satisfied the following criteria have been met:

It has been confirmed that an abduction has occurred, or the child has been taken by anybody including, but not limited to, parents and/or guardians.

The victim is 17 years of age or younger, or of proven mental or physical disability.

There is reason to believe the victim is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

There is information available that, if disseminated to the general public, could assist in the safe recovery of the victim.

The AMBER Alert cannot be used for custodial disputes or runaway cases that don’t meet the criteria. Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to issue an Endangered Missing Advisories for cases that don’t meet the criteria. Here are the steps a law enforcement agency must take once it has been determined that the criteria have been met:

​If the agency is within a CARE county (Los Angeles, Orange, Alameda, or San Diego) contact the local Sheriff’s Department

If the agency is not within a CARE county, contact the California Highway Patrol.

The agency should set up a phone “hotline” to handle tips and appoint a public information officer to handle the press.

The agency should obtain current photos of the victim and if possible the suspect.