Round Rock Man Indicted in Twin Sister Kidnapping

Round Rock, Texas — A federal grand jury has indicted 44-year-old Terry Allen Miles on two counts of kidnapping in connection with the harrowing abduction of two minor sisters following the murder of their mother in December 2017. The indictment, handed down in Austin, marks a critical escalation in a case that spanned multiple states and involved a sprawling law enforcement manhunt.

On or about December 30, 2017, Round Rock Police Department (RRPD) officers conducted a welfare check at the home of Tonya Ellen Bates after she failed to report to work. Inside, they found her body showing signs of blunt force trauma. The scene was silent except for the absence of her 2017 Hyundai Accent—and the chilling realization that her two daughters, ages 7 and 14, were missing. Living in the home at the time: roommate and now-defendant Terry Allen Miles.

Hours after the discovery, a text message sent from one of the girls’ phones to Miles’s mother triggered an immediate investigation. RRPD traced the children’s cell phones, locating one near a heavily wooded area behind a Round Rock Walmart. Surveillance footage showed Miles purchasing camping supplies before fleeing in a vehicle matching Bates’s stolen Accent. Signals from the phone and the car placed them on a trail heading straight into Colorado.

On January 3, 2018, the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office intercepted Miles during a traffic stop near La Vera, Colorado. Inside the stolen Hyundai, deputies found both girls unharmed. Miles was taken into custody without incident. He has remained in federal custody ever since, awaiting trial on federal charges.

Miles now faces two counts of kidnapping, each carrying a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and the possibility of a life sentence upon conviction. His arraignment has not yet been scheduled. Federal prosecutors emphasize that an indictment is not evidence of guilt—only a formal charge—but the weight of the evidence has already drawn national attention.

The case has become one of the most coordinated multi-jurisdictional efforts in recent memory. Led by the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service – Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, and RRPD, the investigation included support from the Texas Rangers, Colorado State Patrol, New Mexico State Police, multiple county sheriffs across two states, Child Protective Services, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Devlin is prosecuting the case for the government.

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