Updated 07/05/2012 05:18 PM
East Austin SWAT situation ends peacefully
Booking photo of Valonda Nora
A SWAT situation in East Austin ended peacefully Thursday afternoon.
According to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, events leading to the standoff began near Elgin early Thursday morning, when a woman reported that her two great-grandchildren, an eight-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, were missing.
The great-grandmother, who had legal custody of the children, said she first noticed they were missing around 4 a.m.
During the investigation, deputies were lead to believe the children were removed from the home by their biological mother, 28-year-old Valonda Nora, who had no parental rights over the children. Officers believed the children were in an apartment in the 5100 block of Blue Spruce Circle in East Austin.
Bastrop officials said that when police arrived at the address, Nora barricaded herself in the apartment and wouldn't come out. Austin’s SWAT team was called to the scene.
Around 2:15 p.m., the standoff ended when officers entered the home and took Nora into custody.
According to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, the children were checked by EMS and returned to their great-grandmother.