Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials issued a missing child alert for three Coral Springs children last seen with their father Tuesday afternoon.
Coral Springs Police say the father, Mario Ruggiero, 46, took his three children — Domenic, 8, Gaetano, 9, and Nia, 3 — to dinner Tuesday as previously planned with the children's mother.
But Ruggiero did not return the children after dinner, as he had agreed to do.
The parents reportedly are separated, and no official custodial agreement for the children exists betweent them, only verbal communication.
Police say the last time they were able to ping Ruggiero's cellphone for his location was about noon Wednesday. The phone was located in the 2900 block of West Sample Road in Pompano Beach, in the area of the Festival Flea Market Mall.
At this time, investigators say they have no reason to believe the children are in danger. However, they are concerned because they do not know Ruggiero's intentions.
Investigators described Ruggiero as having a sleeve of tattoos on both arms.