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Attentive State Trooper Locates Children With Suspected Child Molester

BOISE, Idaho (AP/CBS4) - A Colorado State Patrol trooper is credited with locating three young Idaho children traveling with a suspected child molester.

A 10, 9 and 6-year-old were found with two adults camping near the Vail Pass Rest Area by a state trooper.

Jason "Travis" Simon
Jason "Travis" Simon (credit: Colorado State Patrol)

An Amber Alert was issued Monday for the children, nearly two weeks after law enforcement began looking for them. Police have since placed Sarah Joy VanOcker-Dunn and 37-year-old Jason "Travis" Simon in custody.

"The trooper identified the van that they had been driving parked at the end of a camping and fishing access near the Vail Pass Rest Area, and found the group camping nearby," Trooper Jeffrey Chmielewski with the Colorado State Patrol said in a statement.

Police believed the adults left Idaho with the children after they realized detectives were looking for Simon in connection with a child pornography investigation.

Sarah Joy VanOcker-Dunn
Sarah Joy VanOcker-Dunn (credit: Colorado State Patrol)

Simon is charged with sexual abuse of a child, and VanOcker-Dunn is being sought on a charge of custodial interference.

Detectives from Caldwell, Idaho, will now travel to Colorado to continue the investigation.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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