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Missing Boys, Mother Found Safe In Wisconsin

Updated 04/17/14 - 9:20 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A West Beverly woman and her two sons have been found safe in Wisconsin, after Chicago police said the woman abducted the boys Wednesday evening.

Jamie Duignan and her two boys -- 11-year-old Daniel and 9-year-old Owen -- were found in a motel parking lot in Grand Chute, Wis., about 100 miles north of Milwaukee.

Grand Chute police temporarily detained Jamie Duignan, a Chicago police detective on leave, until they could determine that no charges were being filed against her. She was released, but the children were kept in protective custody at the police station until they could be released to their father, Mark, also a member of the Chicago Police Department.

Police said Jamie Duignan abducted the boys from the vicinity of 107th Street and Campbell Avenue around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. She has been on unpaid leave for a year, according to her father-in-law, Patrick Duignan.

Boys' Grandfather Says Parents Were Contemplating Divorce

Patrick Duignan said Mark told him Jamie took the boys and the family dog, an Old English Bulldog named Lexie, to the park around 6:30 p.m., and an hour later called her husband and said he'd never see his boys again.

"She's never done anything violent. She's never said she's going to do anything violent to the kids before, or anything like this," he said. "But I was afraid because of what she said, 'You're never going to see your boys again.'"

Patrick Duignan said Jamie and his son have been married since 2000, but have been having marital problems for a few years.

"They've been talking about divorce for two years, but they've stayed together for the kids' sake until they could try to work something out," he said. "The last three years have been hard for them."

Patrick Duignan said his daughter-in-law lately had been acting as though everyone is out to get her.

"The last three days, for some reason, she's gotten upset over everything. She thinks everybody's out to get her," he said.

Patrick Duignan said the family just wants Jamie and the boys to return home, and for Jamie to get help.

No AMBER Alert Issued For Missing Boys

No AMBER Alert was issued for the two boys, because the case did not meet all five requirements for such an alert -- at least, not in the eyes of Illinois State Police, who issue such alerts. AMBER Alerts get word out quickly about child abductions by issuing notifications to TV and radio stations, email, electronic traffic signs, the Emergency Alert System and other outlets.

Illinois State Police turned down a Chicago Police Department request for an AMBER Alert for the Duignan boys. State police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the case did not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert, because Jamie Duignan is the boys' biological mother and a custodial parent. State police don't consider this case an abduction, even though that is what Chicago police were calling it.

Even so, Bond said intelligence about the case was shared across state lines, and all police agencies were made aware of the situation.

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