Father reunited with his toddler after he saw her get abducted from their driveway
By Madeline Holcombe, CNN
Father reunited with his toddler after he saw her get abducted from their driveway - CNN
Updated 9:09 AM ET, Tue February 11, 2020
(CNN)Three-year-old Madeline Mejia was back in her father's arms Monday night after she was abducted from their Florida home earlier in the day, authorities said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced in a statement just before noon on Monday that Madeline was safely rescued by authorities. It took only hours for them to find the car that had taken her on a highway in Tallahassee, more than 200 miles from her home in Apopka.
Lester Mejia had loaded the toddler into his car in their driveway around 6 a.m. Monday when he ran into the house to grab his keys, he told CNN affiliate WFTV.
The girl, Madeline Mejia, was on the front lawn of her father's home around 6 a.m. when her dad says he forgot his keys and went back in the house to get them. He heard Mejia screaming and saw her being snatched by a man in a black Honda with a temporary Texas license plate, authorities said
He heard her scream and ran outside to see his daughter being taken away in a black Honda with Texas plates, the outlet reported
Mejia followed the car, the outlet reported, but did not have his cellphone and had to return home to call the police.
Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes said the father chased the vehicle from Apopka, a community northwest of Orlando, until he lost sight of it on Interstate 75 further north. The father didn't have a cellphone, but he drove home and called authorities.
An AMBER alert was issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement around 9:30 a.m. It was canceled once the child was located around 11 a.m. on Interstate 10 near the state capital of Tallahassee, Montes said in a news release. Police suspect the vehicle may have been headed towards Texas.
The father told police he didn't recognize the man driving the car, and that the child's mother lives out of state.
The AMBER alert described the driver as a white-Hispanic male with long brown hair and facial hair and wearing a blue shirt and jeans.
The four suspects have not yet been named by authorities and investigators haven't released a motive for the abduction or whether those in custody have any connection to the girl's family.
An Amber Alert was issued and FDLE agents searched for the car from the air, the agency said. Agents spotted the car in Tallahassee and sent authorities on the ground after it. FDLE agents and Florida Highway Patrol troopers in the area stopped the vehicle and were able to rescue the child
Lt. Kim Montes told WFTV the little girl "was scared" and that the situation was "very traumatic." Four suspects -- three men and one woman -- were taken into custody, troopers told the station.
"It was anguish not knowing what was happening to my daughter," Mejia said. "I'm happy for my baby coming back."
By Madeline Holcombe, CNN
Father reunited with his toddler after he saw her get abducted from their driveway - CNN
Updated 9:09 AM ET, Tue February 11, 2020
(CNN)Three-year-old Madeline Mejia was back in her father's arms Monday night after she was abducted from their Florida home earlier in the day, authorities said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced in a statement just before noon on Monday that Madeline was safely rescued by authorities. It took only hours for them to find the car that had taken her on a highway in Tallahassee, more than 200 miles from her home in Apopka.
Lester Mejia had loaded the toddler into his car in their driveway around 6 a.m. Monday when he ran into the house to grab his keys, he told CNN affiliate WFTV.
The girl, Madeline Mejia, was on the front lawn of her father's home around 6 a.m. when her dad says he forgot his keys and went back in the house to get them. He heard Mejia screaming and saw her being snatched by a man in a black Honda with a temporary Texas license plate, authorities said
He heard her scream and ran outside to see his daughter being taken away in a black Honda with Texas plates, the outlet reported
Mejia followed the car, the outlet reported, but did not have his cellphone and had to return home to call the police.
Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes said the father chased the vehicle from Apopka, a community northwest of Orlando, until he lost sight of it on Interstate 75 further north. The father didn't have a cellphone, but he drove home and called authorities.
An AMBER alert was issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement around 9:30 a.m. It was canceled once the child was located around 11 a.m. on Interstate 10 near the state capital of Tallahassee, Montes said in a news release. Police suspect the vehicle may have been headed towards Texas.
The father told police he didn't recognize the man driving the car, and that the child's mother lives out of state.
The AMBER alert described the driver as a white-Hispanic male with long brown hair and facial hair and wearing a blue shirt and jeans.
The four suspects have not yet been named by authorities and investigators haven't released a motive for the abduction or whether those in custody have any connection to the girl's family.
An Amber Alert was issued and FDLE agents searched for the car from the air, the agency said. Agents spotted the car in Tallahassee and sent authorities on the ground after it. FDLE agents and Florida Highway Patrol troopers in the area stopped the vehicle and were able to rescue the child
Lt. Kim Montes told WFTV the little girl "was scared" and that the situation was "very traumatic." Four suspects -- three men and one woman -- were taken into custody, troopers told the station.
"It was anguish not knowing what was happening to my daughter," Mejia said. "I'm happy for my baby coming back."
