Police: Couple offered bird, cash for kids

EUNICE, La., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Police in Louisiana said three people have been arrested after they allegedly planned to trade $175 cash and a $1,500 cockatoo for two children.

Brandy Romero, 27, and Paul Romero, 46, were each charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping after they allegedly agreed to give up the money and the bird in exchange for a 4-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, the (Opelousas, La.) Daily World reported Friday.

The Romeros were each released after posting $95,000 bond.

Donna Louise Greenwell, 51, was charged with kidnapping and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bond in the Evangeline Parish Jail. Police said the children had been living with Greenwell for about a year, but she is not their biological mother.

"She (Greenwell) is a convicted pedophile. This case could have wider implications," Fontenot said.

Police said the biological mother of the children, who are now in state custody, is believed to be a fugitive in the Lake Charles, La., area. Investigators said they have been unable to locate the children's father.