Abducted Calif. boy may have been found in Mexico

By DAISY NGUYEN, The Associated Press
4:48 p.m. May 16, 2009

LOS ANGELES — Officials in Mexico have found a child they believe is a 3-year-old boy abducted from his California home, but that country's identification process is slowing the family's ability to confirm the child's identity, authorities said Saturday.

Detectives in San Bernardino County and FBI agents received a call from Mexican officials in the border town of Mexicali on Friday saying that they had found a boy that could be Briant Rodriguez, sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said.

She said investigators and the boy's mother, Maria Rosalina Millan, flew to the neighboring city of Calexico to see the child and confirm his identity.

Mexican officials were seeking the boy's birth certificate and other paperwork as part of that country's identification process before Millan can see the child.

"While we're frustrated about the wait, we're hopeful that it is him and that he's OK," said Sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells.

A Mexicali police officer found the boy wandering alone on the streets of a residential neighborhood Friday, said Gerardo Franco, a spokesman for the Baja California state prosecutor's office. He was turned over to child protective custody.

Mexican authorities planned to examine the boy to determine if he has been abused, and they must also confirm that he is an American citizen, Franco said.

He did not know when the authorities would finish examining the boy and determining his citizenship. He said he had no details about the child's condition or how long he had been left alone.

Franco said the mother has also not been able to immediately see the child because he understood she was an illegal immigrant in the U.S. and apparently did not want to risk crossing the border.

Beavers, the sheriff's spokeswoman, said she did not know the mother's immigration status but confirmed the boy's U.S. citizenship.

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 have 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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Associated Press Writers Mariana Martinez and Alexandra Olson contributed to this report from Mexico City.

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