Mom and three children found, but Fresno police say little else on missing persons case

A missing mom and her three young children have been found a day after they were last seen at church.

Desiree Wichapool, 39, and 10-year-old Jonah, 7-year-old Zipporah and 3-year-old Lily were reported to have been located in a 5:45 p.m. update posted by the Fresno Police Department, within hours of the agency issuing an alert and asking for the public’s help finding the family.

No other details on where they had been, how they were found or their conditions were made available.

Fresno police responded to the report of the missing mother and three children on Sunday, according to a bulletin posted by the department.

They were last seen about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the post, leaving a church in the 2300 block of Helm near Willow and Shaw Avenues in Clovis.

Their vehicle was found by law enforcement at 2:30 p.m. Saturday along Highway 41 near Road 200 in Madera County. It was not clear who reported the family missing, or if police already were actively looking for them when the car was found.

Wichapool and her children live in Fresno in the 900 block of North Roosevelt near Palm and Olive Avenues. Police said she may also go by the last name of Ledezma.

This story was originally published July 4, 2021 at 3:49 PM.