An Amber alert was issued for two young girls after their mother’s body was found Sunday inside a Texas home. The two girls lived in the home as well and were believed to have been abducted.

Police were searching for 14-year-old Lilianais Victoria Cake Griffith and 7-year-old Luluvioletta Mariposo Bandera-Margaret. Authorities said they believed Terry Allen Milles, 44, was a person of interest in the woman’s death and the girls’ potential abduction, according to USA Today. He had not yet been officially charged with a crime.

Tonya Bates, the mother of the two missing girls, was found dead on New Year’s Eve, according to KVUE-TV. Police found her body after responding to a welfare check at the home. Her cause of death remained unclear and police did not yet know how long she was dead for before they entered the home. Miles was reportedly Bates’ roommate.

“Our concern and our focus is in bringing these two young girls home safe,” said Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks, according to the Austin American-Statesman. “We ask for the public’s help in locating these two young girls.”

Police said Miles and the two girls were spotted in northern New Mexico and potentially southern Colorado. Miles was previously arrested in Louisiana for second degree murder after beating his girlfriend and strangling her “to the point of unconsciousness,” KPLC-TV reported. It was reportedly not the first time he had been charged with domestic abuse.

Police asked the public to be on the lookout for a gray 2017 Hyundai Accent with Texas license plates JGH9845. Miles was described as 6 feet 2 inches, 200 pounds, with hazel eyes, glasses and a beard. Griffith was described as 5 feet 10 inches, 100 pounds, with brown eyes and braces. Bandera Margaret was described as 4 feet 5 inches and 75 pounds with curly brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information was asked to call 512-218-5516.

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