Police responded Tuesday afternoon to Maricopa Drive in Santa Barbara after an Amber Alert suspect vehicle connected to a Santa Maria homicide was discovered on the street. The missing child, 9-year-old Daniel Morozov, was later found safe, according to the CHP.  (Tom Bolton / Noozhawk photo)
  • Police responded Tuesday afternoon to Maricopa Drive in Santa Barbara after an Amber Alert suspect vehicle connected to a Santa Maria homicide was discovered on the street. However, they found no sign of missing 9-year-old Daniel Morozov or the abduction suspect, 48-year-old Konstantin Morozov.
  • Santa Barbara police respond to the North La Cumbre Road neighborhood after an Amber Alert suspect vehicle is found parked on the street.
  • Santa Barbara police respond to Maricopa Drive after an Amber Alert suspect vehicle is discovered on the street.

A black Jeep Cherokee associated with an Amber Alert suspect wanted in connection with a Santa Maria homicide was located in a Santa Barbara neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.

Santa Barbara police responded to the area of Maricopa and Lee drives, near the Five Points Shopping Center, after the car was reported parked on the street.

The vehicle had the same license plate (7XZK698), make and model listed on the Amber Alert, but there was no sign of the suspect or abducted child, according to authorities.

A woman was shot to death in Santa Maria Monday night, and an Amber Alert was issued for a missing child and suspect, in what appears to be a case of domestic violence.  

The woman, who has not been identified by authorities, was killed on the 200 block of North College Drive around 8:45 p.m., according to the Santa Maria Police Department.

The Amber Alert was issued for 9-year-old Daniel Morozov, last seen in Santa Maria, a few hours later, and the abduction suspect was identified as 48-year-old Konstantin Morozov.

The suspect may be the shooting victim’s husband, according to emergency radio traffic, but police would not confirmed that.

The California Highway Patrol reported at 8:15 p.m. that the boy had been safely located and the Amber Alert was canceled. 

An officer-involved shooting in the San Fernando Valley Tuesday night may be linked to the search for Morozov, according to authorities. 

After the Jeep was found in Santa Barbara, detectives went door to door in the neighborhood off North La Cumbre Road as officers blocked off nearby streets. 

They also inspected the vehicle, which eventually was loaded onto a flatbed tow truck and taken away for evidence.

The Jeep was found parked adjacent to Randy Mantooth's home in what normally is a quiet neighborhood.

Mantooth told Noozhawk that when he got up at about 2:45 a.m. to use the bathroom, he looked out the window.

He saw a man exit the Jeep and get into another vehicle — an older, light-colored sedan.

“I didn’t think much about it till he got into the other car,” Mantooth said, adding that initially he thought it was just someone coming home from the bar.

Mantooth had received the Amber Alert on his cell phone, but hadn't paid much attention since it was from Santa Maria.

It wasn't until a neighbor pointed out the connection that he “put two and two together.”

Mantooth, an actor best known for his starring role in the 1970s television series “Emergency!,” said “it was eerie” to discover the Jeep's connection to the Santa Maria homicide and abduction.

Daniel Morozov was described as white with brown eyes and brown hair, 4 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing 90 pounds. He was last seen wearing blue jeans. 

Konstantin Morozov was described as white, with brown hair and brown eyes, 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds.

He was last seen driving a blue 2015 ​Volkswagen Golf, but Santa Maria police found that vehicle abandoned in the city, so authorities reported that the suspect was most likely traveling in a black Jeep Cherokee.

Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.

Executive editor Tom Bolton reported from the scene.

Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Managing Editor

Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com.