KANSAS CITY, Mo. — 41 Action News uncovered the alleged living situations of three runaway teenaged sisters and information that points to their biological mother’s involvement.
Rigoberto “Rico” Rangel, the person of interest connected to the case, is still a free man as of Wednesday afternoon.
Police found Rangel with the girls early Tuesday morning, after they’d been missing for more than a month.
41 Action News went to Rangel’s mother’s home in Kansas City, Kansas where she told us surprising details.
“They all lived here, the three girls. They were here,” Regina Rangel said, leading 41 Action News into her basement.
Regina Rangel says the girls lived with her 48-year-old son in the cluttered basement, littered with clothes and other objects.
“One or two months, yes,” she said.
The girls, ages 12, 14, and 15, ran away from their foster home in Tonganoxie in late August.
Tonganoxie police say Regina Rangel’s house was one of several officers searched.
Rangel says the sisters never spoke one word to her.
“They came upstairs to go to the bathroom, to take a shower, or to eat,” Regina Rangel explained.
The sisters went unseen for more than a month until someone tipped the police off to a house near Stadium Drive in Kansas City, Missouri. Rico was arrested and the girls went into state custody.
Rico was released around 9 a.m. the same day.
Regina Rangel says Rico came back to her house Tuesday night, hours after leaving police custody.
“We may need to make a determination what criminal acts occurred,” Tonganoxie Police Chief Jeff Brandau told 41 Action News.
Brandau says they are working with the FBI to come up with charges.
Regina Rangel claims she didn’t know the sisters were runaways because, she says, their biological mother was there at the house, too.
“Oh yes, she came every day,” Regina Rangel said.
The problem is, the sisters’ mother lost custody, and that’s why they went to stay with relatives in Tonganoxie six months ago.
Where they’ll go next is unknown.
Regina Rangel says she doesn't know if Rico will come back to her house Wednesday night.
Anyone with information about who was involved in the runaways’ case should call police immediately.
