Haley backs decision to not issue AMBER warning for Jones kids

Gov. Nikki Haley backed the decision to not issue an AMBER Alert when a the mother of five slain children said she did not know of their whereabouts this month.

Timothy Ray Jones Jr. of Red Bank was charged Friday in connection with the deaths of his five children, ages 1-8. Jones’ former wife, Amber, reported the children and her ex-husband missing on Sept. 3. Their names were entered into the National Crime Information Center database as missing.

But the case did not meet criteria for an AMBER alert because Timothy Jones had primary custody of the children, authorities said.

"How do you do an Amber Alert out for somebody who the courts gave primary custody to?," Haley told The State on Friday. "I think that (State Law Enforcement Division) Chief (Mark) Keel and SLED followed it the way it was. ... I think they did what they were supposed to do for this family."

The governor did not rule out amending the AMBER alert criteria to cover cases involving someone with guardianship of missing children.

"If they want to change the law, that's fine," she said of the federal standard.

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Haley backs decision to not issue AMBER warning for Jones kids."