Missing Child William McQuain Sparks Amber Alert

Curtis Lopez is in custody

The husband of a Maryland woman found dead in her home was charged Thursday, but her son is still missing, News4's Pat Collins reported.

An Amber Alert was issued just after midnight Thursday for 11-year-old William McQuain, who was last seen in Germantown on Sept. 30.

"My hope is that he may be with a family member or a friend that perhaps has no idea what's occurred with his mother, but as time goes on, it becomes more and more of a longshot that that's the case, but we're still hoping we can find William," Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said.

A missing persons report for the boy and his mother, 51-year-old Jan McQuain, was filed Wednesday about 2 p.m. because an acquaintance hadn't seen them in about two weeks. Police learned the boy hadn't been in school since Sept. 30.

Detectives found Jane McQuain dead in the bedroom of her home in the 13100 block of Briarcliff Terrace in Germantown Wednesday evening. Investigators said the death was caused by blunt force trauma to the upper body. Police believe she may have been dead 10 to 12 days, Manger said.

Her son and her vehicle, a 2011 black Honda CRV with Maryland plate number 5AG9405, were gone.

Montgomery County police said the Honda CRV was found unoccupied Thursday morning at an Econo Lodge in Charlotte, N.C.

Jane McQuain's husband, 45-year-old Curtis Lopez, is in custody in Charlotte. He was arrested about 9:30 a.m. at the Econo Lodge on first-degree murder warrant.

Lopez was known to frequent McQuain's residence but did not appear to live there, Manger said. Witnesses recently saw him there loading property from the residence into the victim's vehicle.

Detectives talked to Lopez Wednesday evening before the body was discovered and considered him a person of interest after it was determined to be a homicide due to inconsistent statements.

Lopez is not William's biological father, Collins reported. Sources told News4 that he was with a female companion not believed to have anything to do with either the death of Jane McQuain or the disappearance of her son. Those sources also say Lopez has an attorney (public defender) and made no statements to investigators.

Law enforcement continues to search the Germantown area for William, described as biracial, 5 feet tall, 85 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He attends Martin Luther King Middle School in Germantown, which sent a letter home to parents Thursday.

Anyone with information on the child should call either 911 or Montgomery County police at 240-773-5070. Police caution citizens not to take action on their own.

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