The estranged husband of a missing Miramar woman was granted custody of his three children Friday, according to documents from the Attorney General's Office.
Vilet Torrez, 38, disappeared without a trace on March 30, authorities said.
A week following her disappearance, her children were taken from their father, Cid Torrez, when he was named a person of interest in the investigation, Miramar Police said. They said they suspect foul play in Torrez's disappearance.
The Florida Department of Children and Families handed custody to Vilet Torrez's parents following a confidential call by a family member expressing fear that Cid Torrez could hurt himself or the children. He and Vilet Torrez had separated two months prior to her disappearance.
"This is not a matter of a couple that's divorcing and we're fighting custody, this is a criminal case, this is an investigation. It's still going on, it's still being looked at, nothing has cleared him," Naiyva Blanco, Vilet Torrez's sister, told NBC 6.
She said the family was blind-sighted by the decision.
"They don't want to go, they want to stay here," Javier Blanco, Vilet Torrez's brother, told NBC 6.
Cid Torrez's attorney, Richard Della Fera, told NBC 6 Saturday that the Attorney General’s Office filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, terminating the jurisdiction of the court.
“Cid has had a tough struggle since his wife, Vilet, disappeared nearly two months ago. He is extremely grateful that he will now be happily reunited with his children,” Della Fera wrote in an email.
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Officials have not confirmed when the children will be returned to their father.
