Local News

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― The FBI has filed abduction charges against a mother who remains missing with one of her two daughters. The three had been living in a dug out hole in the sand underneath a Fort Lauderdale beach playground. The mother was seen Friday in the North Lauderdale area near State Road 7 and Prospect Road.

According to Fort Lauderdale police, the FBI has filed charges against Tammy Kongham for the abduction of her 8-and 10-year old daughters, Kelley and Kimberly. Police and the FBI also say that Kongham is considered a fugitive and anyone who may be helping her avoid arrest could face charges.

"We have very good information that she is in the area," said Broward Sheriff's detective Michael Joo, "that she has been staying in the area up until today."

Tammy Kongham and her daughters have been on the run since October, when authorities say she took her girls' from a Philadelphia school and fled to Broward County.

Fort Lauderdale police say the trio hid in a pit dug in the sand underneath the Sebastian Street playground for two weeks. To get under it, they had to dig a tunnel.

"It would be night time and they would come down here and just start digging, digging a big enough hole so they could crawl underneath it," described Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Kathy Collins.

Once under the playground, no one could see them; the sides were all covered. They would stay in the tunnel sometimes for two weeks at a time, hunched over as other kids played above. "They couldn't sit up, of course, they had to lay down." said Det. Collins.

They would go to the bathroom down there and then cover it with sand.

Here's where the story takes another unbelievable twist: a week and a half ago police say the mother left her 10-year-old daughter with coconuts to eat and sent her out on her own. The mother apparently feared they'd get caught if they stayed together. Kelley Kongham was found begging for food at the Galleria Mall among all the high dollar holiday shoppers. It took nearly a week before she would talk.

Police say her sister, 8-year-old Kimberly, is likely still with their mother somewhere in the Fort Lauderdale beach area. Police believe the mother and daughter are wearing their hair short. They say the mother shaved their heads and wore wigs and other disguises to avoid being recognized.

Detectives say they're concerned for Kimberly's safety "due to the mother's instability." They say she does not have the means necessary to care for the child based on information obtained throughout the investigation. Detectives are urging the mother to turn the child over to a responsible person or to the authorities immediately.

A representative of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Human Services is en route to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up the older sister and bring her back to Philadelphia.

Marybel Perez was the girl's foster parent in Philadelphia.

She says when the girl's came to live with her they were quiet and withdrawn but over time they opened up and started laughing like regular kids. "They're very respectful," Perez said. "They loved each other. They took care of each other."

Perez said the girls returned to school for the first time in years. They even started drawing and exhibited talent as artists. Perez showed us a letter Kelly wrote saying how great it was to be back in school. But the schooling didn't last. Police believe Kongham kidnapped the girls from their school, wearing a wig to disguise her identity.

Perez says she feared something like that would happen. "I felt that she was gonna do that," Perez said. "Speaking to the girls they would say we're gonna go back to Vietnam so I felt she was gonna do something like this."

Authorities are also searching for Tammy Kongham's ex-husband, Jimmy, in hopes he knows where she and Kimberly are located. Deputies do not believe Konham has family or friends in the area, though they believe people are helping her.

Fort Lauderdale police continue to actively search for Tammy and Kimberly and are investigating all possible sightings. Her face is plastered across South Florida storefronts for maximum exposure. Friday, Broward Sheriff's deputies walked door-to-door and store-to-store.

Police urge anyone who may have seen Tammy Kongham and her 8-year-old daughter Kimberly to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS or Detective Kathy Collins at (954) 828-5548.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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