Thread: Abducted Ca. boy found in Mexico- UPDATED - MOM ILLEGAL

USA TODAY left out the part about mom being an illegal alien.

Officials: Abducted U.S. boy reunited with mom

Updated 6m ago

SAN BERNARDINO, California (AP) — A 3-year-old boy abducted from his family home in San Bernardino nearly two weeks ago by two armed men was reunited with his mother Saturday after police found him wandering a Mexican border town's streets, sheriff's officials said.

The reunion took place in the California border city of Calexico, a day after detectives and FBI agents received a call from officials in the neighboring Mexican city of Mexicali saying they found a boy that could be Briant Rodriguez, San Bernardino County sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells said.

Ells said a municipal police officer in Mexicali found the boy walking the streets by himself late Thursday. The officer initially thought the child was from the neighborhood and took him to several houses seeking his family before leaving him in child protective custody, Ells said.

Mexican authorities did not realize who the child was and didn't issue a missing child alert until Friday afternoon, he said.

Ells said Briant's mother, Maria Rosalina Millan, and investigators boarded a plane to Calexico Friday night. An FBI agent crossed the border and handled immigration paperwork for the boy, who holds dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, he said.

The FBI agent brought Briant back across the border for the reunion Saturday, Ells said.

Ells had no details about the child's condition or how long he had been left alone.

Investigators were continuing to investigate why Briant was abducted and why his family was targeted. Millan said two men burst into her home on May 3, tied up the family, stole money and other property then left with her youngest child.

The kidnappers had not demanded a ransom and the initial investigation pointed to the kidnappers being strangers to the family.

Federal and local investigators were looking at several theories, including that the Spanish-speaking kidnappers were from Mexico and may have had ties to organized crime there.

Authorities later released a photo of two men they said were the kidnappers. The blurred image was taken from a surveillance camera in a home-improvement store as the men bought tape believed to have been used to bind Millan and her children.

The family lives in a modest, single-story home in a lower-income area abutting the city of San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009 ... titialskip

Reunited with mom, abducted boy headed back home

By GILLIAN FLACCUS, The Associated Press
8:22 p.m. May 16, 2009

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A 3-year-old boy abducted from his family home in San Bernardino nearly two weeks ago was being evaluated at a local hospital Saturday after returning from the Mexican border town of Mexicali, where he had been found wandering the streets, sheriff's officials said.

After the physical and emotional evaluations, Briant Rodriguez was expected to return home for the first time since two armed men snatched him from his house after bursting in and tying up his family, San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops said.

"I've been doing this for 30 years. I'm not saying it doesn't happen ... but the odds of finding him safe and alive – the odds of finding him alive – went down every day," Hoops said. "Our detectives never gave up."

Briant and his mother, Maria Rosalina Millan, were reunited earlier Saturday in Calexico, Calif., a day after detectives and FBI agents received a call from officials in the neighboring Mexican city of Mexicali saying they found a boy that could be Briant, sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells said.

Ells said a municipal police officer in Mexicali found the boy wandering the streets by himself late Thursday.

The officer initially thought the child was from the neighborhood and took him to several houses seeking his family before leaving him in child protective custody, Ells said.

Mexican authorities did not realize who the child was and didn't notify U.S. authorities until Friday afternoon, he said.

Ells said Briant's mother, and investigators boarded a plane to Calexico Friday night.

FBI agents crossed the border and handled immigration paperwork for the boy, who holds dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, he said.

The agents brought Briant back across the border for the reunion Saturday, Hoops said.

"I talked with one of the FBI agents... that came across the border and watched the mother and the son reunited and he said the last thing he saw was Briant clutching his mother's neck," Hoops said, becoming visibly choked up. "And that kind of says it all."

Hoops said Millan was not reunited with Briant until the day after her arrival in Calexico because of the amount of paperwork involved in the cross-border incident.

Gerardo Franco, a spokesman for the Baja California state prosecutor's office, said Millan also was not immediately able to see the boy because he understood she was an illegal immigrant in the U.S. and apparently did not want to risk crossing the border.

Hoops declined to comment on Millan's immigration status, but stressed that Briant is an American citizen.

"He was born a hospital in San Bernardino and he has every right to be here," Hoops said. "That's why we worked so hard to get him back."
Hoops did not know how long Briant had been left alone in Mexicali, but said he appeared unharmed and was in good spirits.

He said authorities believed they were closing in on at least two men suspected in the abduction when the boy was found.

"We identified some suspects," he said. "I can't specifically say if the suspects let him go or if he wandered away, but I have to think the suspects let him go."

Hoops declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation. Authorities also would not say whether Briant knew his captors, but said his parents were not considered suspects.

Federal and local investigators have said they were looking at several theories, including that the Spanish-speaking kidnappers were from Mexico and may have had ties to organized crime there.

Millan said two men burst into her modest, single-story home about 60 miles east of Los Angeles on May 3, tied up the family, stole money and other property then left with her youngest child.

The kidnappers had not demanded a ransom and the initial investigation pointed to the kidnappers being strangers to the family.

Hoops said the investigators were not looking in Mexicali when Briant was found.

"We were searching leads all over California and all over the country," "I don't want to say we got lucky because our investigators, they worked their tails off."
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Associated Press writers Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles and Mariana Martinez and Alexandra Olson in Mexico City contributed to this report.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... dex=100635

I am glad the boy was found unharmed. Now its time for his illegal alien mother and the rest of the family to leave and go back to Mexico.

Added to Homepage with amended title:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4224--0-0.html

I'm sure that this was either a drug-related action or human smugglers weren't paid their fees....it's really disturbing that they leave out the details and that the law enforcement officials didn't make sure that ICE takes action against this mother and the rest of the family.

Hmmm............wonder if the family will attempt to characterize themselves as victims of human trafficking as a means of attempting to secure legal status for themselves ('T' Visa). Nothing surprises me anymore.
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How can an "Illegal Alien" fly on airplane? What idenifacation did she use to board the airplane? Last time I flew I had to show valid ID and go through security. Valid ID ='s state drivers license, state ID, military ID or Passport. Remember the ID can not be damaged or defaced in any way. One person was turned away because his license was torn.

I am happy the boy was found safe. I hope this does not give her the right to apply for US Citizenship. I do not understand why they have duel citizenship but they can not follow our laws and enter legally.

Originally Posted by MW

Hmmm............wonder if the family will attempt to characterize themselves as victims of human trafficking as a means of attempting to secure legal status for themselves ('T' Visa). Nothing surprises me anymore.

I was thinking along the same lines, MW. Watch this be the next "victim" scam. Bet the kidnappers are never found and voila "victim" visas for the whole family.

Originally Posted by BigLakeAK

How can an "Illegal Alien" fly on airplane? What idenifacation did she use to board the airplane? Last time I flew I had to show valid ID and go through security. Valid ID ='s state drivers license, state ID, military ID or Passport. Remember the ID can not be damaged or defaced in any way. One person was turned away because his license was torn.

I am happy the boy was found safe. I hope this does not give her the right to apply for US Citizenship. I do not understand why they have duel citizenship but they can not follow our laws and enter legally.

It may have been a government plane or a plane hired by the government to take her and the two F.B.I. agents to Calexico because I don't think Calexico is big enough to have regular scheduled flights in and out. And when she is being escorted by 2 F.B.I. agents who is going to tell them that she can't fly.

Mom does not have duel citizenship, only the boy. Mom is a Mexican citizen.

I'm so happy this child is okay but his mother leaves a lot more than a little to be desired as a parent.

What kind of parent is so damned SELFISH that when their missing child is finally......and miraculously.....found, all they can do is worry about crossing into Mexico to scoop that child up because they won't be allowed to illegally return here?

Who cares? Isn't the most important thing getting your baby back?

But yeah.....all of those wonderful and superior family values we keep hearing so much about.