Topeka ? A 5-year-old girl was found safe Wednesday night in Albany County, Wyo., after her mother was killed earlier that day in Topeka.

Authorities issued an Amber Alert for Stormy Shirk, 5, around mid-afternoon. It was lifted around 9 p.m., after her father, Justin Chadd Shirk, 29, was found dead in Albany County.

Police did not say how Justin Shirk died or where the girl was found.

The search for the girl and her father began after the girl’s mother, Melissa Shirk, 31, was found dead in her home in Topeka around 10:40 a.m., and Stormy Shirk, who lives with her mother, was missing.

Authorities had said they considered the girl’s father a “person of interest” in both the abduction and the woman’s death.

“We only issue Amber Alerts when a parent is involved if we believe a child is in imminent danger,” said Whitney Watson, coordinator of the Amber Alert system for the state Attorney General’s Office.

Justin Shirk was believed to be driving a gold, 2002 Dodge Intrepid with a Kansas veterans license plate, No. 59263. Officials said he might have been on his way to Seaside, Ore., with the child.

Police spokeswoman Kristi Pankratz declined to say who owned the car, except that it was not owned by Justin Shirk.

“Let’s just say the subject does not have permission to borrow it,” Pankratz said.