10-Year-Old Found Alive After Abduction

A 10-year-old girl was found alive yesterday after being abducted nearly 12 hours earlier from her Northridge, California home. Police are now on the hunt for two male suspects believed to have forcibly removed the child from her bedroom during the early morning hours of Wednesday.

The child was discovered Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of a coffee shop, located roughly six miles from her home. Police believe the child had wandered into the area after being dropped in front of a nearby hospital by her kidnappers. The girl, who is not being identified at this time, was reportedly found with bruises and cuts to her face.

The abduction is believed to have taken place sometime between midnight and 3:30 am on Wednesday.

After discovering her daughter’s open bedroom door, the child’s mother quickly searched the home and alerted police that the girl was missing.

Arriving at the home around 4:30 am, police reportedly found no evidence of forced entry. However, an outside gate was found open, and investigators speculate that the abductors may have found an entry point at the back of the house.

A search was launched in the community and the 10-year-old was found alive by an unidentified citizen shortly after 2:00 pm yesterday afternoon.

The girl was reportedly sitting in a chair in front of a Starbucks location, barefoot and wearing different clothing than what she had on at the time of her abduction. She was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.

According to police, the young girl did not know her abductors. She explained that during the nearly 12 hour ordeal, two men moved her between several locations. She reportedly described being held in an abandoned house, a storage facility, and a local park before being she was dropped outside of Kaiser Hospital.

Each location has reportedly been secured by authorities who are conducting crime scene analysis. A black pickup truck, believed to have been used by the kidnappers, was recovered at the storage facility, and police have indicated that a second unidentified vehicle also may have been used during the crime.

Los Angeles Police Captain William Hayes spoke about the investigation during a press conference Wednesday evening. “We have a 10-year-old girl that’s been traumatized here, she was forcibly taken from her home,” Hayes explained. “If these individuals are brazen enough to do that, I’m putting all the resources I have to make sure they don’t do it again.”

Police continue to investigate the abduction and have unleashed a manhunt for the two male suspects involved. While a detailed description of the suspects has not yet been released, officials have indicated that both are male and one is thought to be approximately 18-years-old.

After the 10-year-old girl was found alive and given medical treatment, she was reunited with her family.

[Top image via Wikimedia]