'A Beautiful Thing': Abducted Boy Back With His Mother
3-year-old was kidnapped two weeks ago by gunmen who tied up mom, robbed home.
May 17, 2009— -- It was the happy ending even police admitted they had nearly given up hoping for: Two weeks after he was kidnapped at gunpoint by two men who broke into his family's San Bernardino, Calif., home, 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez today was back safe and sound with his family.
"It was emotional for everyone," San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Doug Hubbard said. "Tears even came to Briant's eyes. It was a beautiful thing."
The little boy was none the worse for wear, police said -- except the kidnappers had cut off his long curly hair, shaving his head.
The boy was found last week across the border in Mexicali, Mexico, wandering the streets and at first police there had no idea who he was.
Only on Friday did they realize that he matched Briant's description, and they contacted San Bernardino police and the FBI agents investigating the case.
Detectives from the sheriff's office and the boy's mother, Maria Rosalina Millan, traveled to Mexicali late Friday, but because of the bureaucracy of Mexican police and child protective services, they were not allowed to see the boy until Saturday, when Millan identified him.
Nevertheless, police today said Briant was well cared for after Mexican officials found him.
"He was in good hands while he was there," San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops said. "He was cared for, he was fed, he had a bed to sleep in."
Rodriguez was abducted on May 3 by two men who broke into his family's home, tied up his mother and siblings and ransacked the house, police said.
Last week, as the days had gone by with no word from the kidnappers and no sightings of the boy, police admitted that hopes of finding the boy alive were fading. In most abductions, if the victim is not found within 48 hours, they are not found alive.
Police still said they have not determined a motive for Briant's kidnapping, but last week they said they have found what they believe are store surveillance camera images of two suspects buying supplies for the kidnapping.
"We do have solid suspects," Hoops said today. "We feel confident justice will be brought."
