http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/jan ... 19yearold/

Authorities seek two in smuggling case of 19-year-old
By Chris W. Colby (Contact)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

The smugglers wanted $1,500 from the 19-year-old woman's family before they'd turn her over.

When the Immokalee residents didn't pay, the green van fled with the woman, Christina Cruz, a Guatemalan immigrant, in the back.

And, according to the Collier County Sheriff's Office, the two men now are wanted as human smuggling suspects.

Investigators are looking for Cruz and the van in which she was held, a late '90s model green Chevrolet Astro, which had a white stripe, tinted windows and an Arizona license plate, A9YAW.

The two men in the van were described only as Hispanic.

Collier sheriff's Detective Charlie Frost, who investigates human trafficking cases, said the two are suspects in the false imprisonment case.

It's not considered a kidnapping because investigators believe Cruz entered the United States and went to Immokalee willingly. False imprisonment is when a person is held against his or her will.

The 911 call came around 8 p.m. Thursday. The men had called Cruz's family members to say they were on the way to their home, 211 N. Fourth St., to make the exchange of money for Cruz, Frost said.

"They didn't have the correct amount of money," Frost said of Cruz's family.

The family, which like Cruz is from Guatemala, hadn't seen Cruz since she was a small child and can't provide much of a description for investigators, Frost said. But a deal had been arranged to bring her to the United States for a price.

Frost said investigators don't want to release details of the arrangement because the case is pending. But the $1,500 the smugglers asked for exceeded what the family had available or wanted to pay.

Crisanta Mendoza, Cruz's sister-in-law, saw the van pull up in front of the home. She saw Cruz in the back of the van.

"She wasn't injured or in any kind of duress," Frost said.

When the family made clear they wouldn't pay, the driver indicated they were leaving without turning over Cruz. Mendoza told him she would call 911, and Cruz tried to get out of the van, but it was locked. The driver then fled in an undetermined direction.

Federal investigators are involved because human trafficking or smuggling violates U.S. laws, Frost said. Officials believe the smugglers may have taken Cruz out of the area but aren't likely to return her to Guatemala.

Detectives worked the case late Thursday and Friday. Frost is asking the public to keep a look out for the van and the woman. Officials put out a nationwide be-on-the-lookout alert for the van, so if it's located and reported, law enforcement officers can respond quickly, Frost said.

Frost said he couldn't say what the family's immigration status is.

"They've been in the United States for several years," Frost said.

Frost said he can't speculate on whether the smugglers will try to contact Cruz's family again.

If anyone has any information on Cruz, the men or the van, contact the Collier County Sheriff's Office at 793-9300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477). You may remain anonymous.