WICHITA, Kan. — A 2-year-old girl is safely back in her mother’s arms after a violent domestic incident led to an hours-long search, a citywide police effort, and an afternoon AMBER Alert on Sunday.
The ordeal began around 2 a.m. in the 4200 block of East Boston Street. Kenneth Buff, a 20-year resident of the neighborhood, was woken by a loud crash outside his home. Investigating the noise, Buff discovered a white truck had smashed into his fence before driving further down the alley, where the driver exited to confront a woman.
According to the Wichita Police Department (WPD), officers responded to a reported domestic disturbance involving a 21-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman. Investigators state the man battered the woman before forcibly taking their 2-year-old daughter, Araceli Gonzales, from the home.
A neighbor reported that the victim came to his door bleeding, bruised, and pleading for help. She told the neighbor the suspect dragged her by her hair and choked her until she was nearly unconscious. According to an AMBER Alert later released by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the father—identified as Saul Gonzales-Diaz—was believed to be armed with a gun, and the mother reported hearing a possible gunshot inside the home before her daughter was taken.
Law enforcement deployed Flock license plate cameras, phone location tracking, and citywide advisories to trace the suspect’s movements. WPD notified the KBI to expand the search, triggering a statewide AMBER Alert around 1:30 p.m.—nearly 12 hours after the initial call to police.
The search culminated around 3 p.m. when officers spotted the suspect’s vehicle in the 500 block of North Ash Street. With cooperation from family members, officers gained access to a nearby residence, located the toddler unharmed, and took Gonzales-Diaz into custody without further incident. Over 12 hours after the traumatic ordeal began, the child was reunited with her mother at the scene.
Questions remain regarding the timeline of the alert. When pressed on why the AMBER Alert was issued hours after the initial 2:30 a.m. call, WPD provided a statement emphasizing that locating the child safely was their highest priority from the start.
“Throughout the early morning and into the day, investigators aggressively pursued every available lead while also working to gather and verify information as the investigation unfolded,” WPD stated, adding that officers utilized every available law enforcement resource before contacting the KBI to broaden the search.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
