LOS ANGELES, CA — A child who was kidnapped from the San Gabriel Valley six years ago has been found in North Carolina, where she was attending school under a pseudonym, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday.
The child, who was 5 at the time, was reported missing from Duarte by the county Department of Children and Family Services in July 2020. At that time, DCFS had been conducting an investigation into the child, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials.
“The child’s mother — who had custody — stopped communicating with DCFS personnel and was believed to have taken the child,” reads a release from the Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies received information suggesting the girl, now 11, may be in Washington County, North Carolina — a rural area about 120 miles east of Raleigh. On Friday, authorities in LA County contacted their counterparts in North Carolina, which investigated the matter.
“Deputies were able to determine that the child was enrolled in Washington County schools under an alias name,” the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
Authorities there described the nature of the girl’s disappearance as a “kidnapping.”
The girl was placed in protective custody and is safe, Washington County authorities said.
“These are very rare occurrences to have such a positive outcome on such an old case as this, but it reminds us that through hard work, and dedication, and cooperation. Stories with positive outcomes like these can happen,” reads the release.
The investigation is ongoing by both sheriff’s departments.
Authorities have not released the girl’s name, citing her age. She was previously identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, but Patch has declined to publish her name to protect her privacy.