UPDATE, 5:50 p.m.: Montgomery County police chief Thomas Manger said Lopez is being charged with first-degree murder.
William remains missing, and Manger said he had no information about what Lopez has told North Carolina officials.
He said Jane McQuain was dead for about 10 to 12 days before authorities found her body last night. She had suffered trauma to her upper body, but police are still awaiting a medical examiner’s report on her cause of death.
Manger said police still hope to find William alive and are asking anyone with information to contact authorities.
Staff writer Rachel Baye contributed to this report.
UPDATE, 4:06 p.m.: Montgomery County police said 45-year-old Curtis M. Lopez was arrested in Charlotte in Jane McQuain’s death. Lopez is McQuain’s husband and William’s step-father.
William remains missing.
An expert on missing children says it’s concerning that the boy hasn’t been found. But most abducted children are ultimately recovered alive, said Bob Lowery, executive director of the missing-children’s division of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“There’s a lot of scenarios where this child can be found and recovered in good health,” Lowery said. “That’s why we never give up, even when the circumstances look dire.”
UPDATE, 2:41 p.m.: Authorities have a suspect in custody in connection with the slaying and disappearance. A man was taken into custody in North Carolina at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, police spokeswoman Angela Cruz said. Cruz said McQuain’s car was found in the Charlotte area. The Amber Alert for William McQuain is still in effect, she said.
UPDATE, 11:07 a.m.: Extra counselors are available at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School for students and staff, Montgomery County schools spokesman Dana Tofig said. He said the school’s principal is sending a letter home Thursday about the Amber Alert and school officials are providing information to police. Tofig would not say when William last attended class.
“Our main concern is helping the police however we can and supporting our students,” Tofig said.
ORIGINAL POST: Police say a Germantown woman was found slain in her home and an Amber Alert has been issued for her 11-year-old son.
Montgomery County police said 51-year-old Jane McQuain was found dead in her apartment on the 13100 block of Briarcliff Terrace at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Earlier that day, police said, a friend contacted authorities when he could not get in touch with McQuain. Responding officers found McQuain dead in her bedroom.
Police said McQuain suffered trauma and detectives are investigating her death as a homicide, but they did not provide further information about how she died. A medical examiner is working to determine the cause of her death, Montgomery County police Capt. Paul Starks said.
Authorities are looking for her son, William McQuain. Starks said authorities were told last night that he was last seen at his home on Sept. 30, but police are trying to confirm that. Starks said William is a sixth-grade student at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
Starks said investigators are interviewing people who know the McQuains and trying to locate William.
“The focus is still on an 11-year-old child,” he said.
Starks said detectives are speaking with relatives, friends and neighbors of McQuain and “determining what kind of routine she had, who was in her circle.”
A vehicle registered to McQuain was also missing, but the black 2011 Honda CRV was located unoccupied at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Starks said. He would not say where the car was found.
William is described as biracial, about 5 feet tall and 85 pounds, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone who has information about the whereabouts of William or the Honda should call 911. Anyone with information about what happened to McQuain can call police at 240-773-5070 or Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS (8477) or 240-773-8477.
