Thread: ICE places illegal immigration hold on Minneapolis kidnapping suspect

Posted: Feb 21, 2013 11:15 AM PST Updated: Feb 21, 2013 1:16 PM PST

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed an immigration hold on Isabel Diaz-Castillo following her arrest in the abduction of an 8-month-old Minneapolis boy Wednesday.

An AMBER Alert was triggered Wednesday afternoon when Minneapolis police identified Castillo as the suspect in the kidnapping of Carlos Orozco from his mother's apartment on the 2100 block of Portland Ave. S.

It wasn't long before an anonymous tip led police to a home where Castillo's relatives live. Officers found the red Kia Sportage listed in the AMBER Alert parked out front.

"The suspect bailed from the vehicle, ran inside the home, and the officers found the child in the basement of the home," said Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau.

Investigators said Castillo she had recently met Carlos's mother, Vicky, and had been paying an inordinate amount of attention to the boy before the abduction.

The boy was reunited with his mother Wednesday evening and is believed to be in good health.

ICE: Minneapolis kidnapping suspect an illegal resident - KMSP-TV

Posted: Feb 21, 2013 3:00 PM PST Updated: Feb 21, 2013 3:01 PM PST
by Leah Beno

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -

The family of a woman jailed and awaiting charges after an AMBER Alert was issued for an 8-month-old boy taken from his home on Wednesday is coming to her defense, saying the abduction was a deal between two mothers.

Isabel Diaz-Castillo is currently being held in the Hennepin County Jail, and charges are expected to be filed later Thursday afternoon or early Friday morning.

"I don't know if something is wrong with my sister," Israel Diaz told FOX 9 News.

Diaz said he was not home on Wednesday afternoon when his sister came to his house with a baby no one in the family had seen before.

"My wife called and said, 'Hey, something is wrong,'" he recalled.

His wife told him that Diaz-Castillo brought a baby to the home, and that police were there 20 minutes later. That's because the baby was 8-month-old Carlos Orozco, who had been missing for several hours and was the focus of a statewide AMBER Alert.

The boy's mother, Victoria Orozco, told FOX 9 News that she had put her son down for a nap in his car seat and took a shower. When she returned, Carlos was gone and she quickly pointed police toward a woman she had met at a Laundromat a month ago.

"I have only seen her twice, and yesterday was the third time," Orozco said. "She came to my house. I've never really met or sat down and talked with her."

Yet, Israel Diaz told FOX 9 News it was no kidnapping. Instead, he said his sister's roommate and the two mothers made a deal.

"My sister paid $5,000 for the kid -- for Victoria's son -- because my sister said she is going to care for the kid for a month," he said. "After a month, she would take the kid back."

Orozco calls it crazy, saying no deal ever existed -- and Diaz could not explain why his sister would make such a deal anyway. He also did not know if it had anything to do with his sister's immigration status, as she is an undocumented worker.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed an immigration hold on Diaz-Castillo, who has two sons of her own, ages 9 and 12. Family members say they are currently making arrangements for the boys to live with their aunts and uncles.

Family: Suspected kidnapper had deal with baby's mother - KMSP-TV

February 25, 2013 3:53 PM
Edgar Linares

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The woman accused of kidnapping a baby boy last week from a south Minneapolis apartment made her first court appearance Monday.

Isabel Diaz-Castillo, 30, appeared in handcuffs wearing orange jail scrubs and spoke through a Spanish interpreter behind glass. She faces one count of felony kidnapping.

Diaz-Castillo had a public defender assigned to her case Monday and her bail, set at $100,000 last week, will remain. She didn’t say much, but had questions for her newly appointed attorney.

Investigators say last Wednesday Diaz-Castillo took 8-month-old Carlos Orozco from his mother’s home near Franklin and Portland Avenues in south Minneapolis. It happened while the boy’s mother was showering.

Four hours later, Minneapolis Police received a tip and found Diaz-Castillo and the baby boy in the basement of a home belonging to a relative of Diaz-Castillo.

The child’s hair had been cut and Diaz-Castillo also had some suitcases packed at her home, her boyfriend said they were going to be moving at the end of the month.

Orozco’s mother, Vicky Orozco, says she met Diaz-Castillo a month earlier at Laundromat. The Hennepin County Attorney says Diaz-Castillo took an “extreme interest” in the boy.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have an immigration hold on Diaz-Castillo. Federal investigators say she’s in the United States illegally.

Last week, the Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that usually someone is deported after they are tried and their sentence has been completed.

Daiz-Castillo will be back in court on March 26.

Accused Baby Kidnapper Makes 1st Court Appearance « CBS Minnesota