9 AM: An 8-year-old girl who was abducted Monday evening from outside a Fresno apartment complex has been found safe and her suspected kidnapper is in custody, police said this morning.
A statewide Amber Alert was issued overnight for Elisa Cardenas, who had last been seen wearing a light purple Winnie the Pooh sweater and blue jeans.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., a man in a pickup truck pulled up in front of an apartment complex at 2751 E. Hammond Ave. near a group of children who were playing.
The man approached a 6-year-old girl and Elisa, who started to walk with the man as the younger girl walked away, police said.
Female witnesses yelled at the children to get away from the man, who then grabbed Elisa and pushed her into the truck’s cab.
Elisa’s mother hopped into a car and tried to chase the truck, but lost track of it, police said.
The truck was described as a late 70s or early 80s Ford or Chevy pickup truck with a distinctive 6-inch white horizontal stripe on its sides.
Sometime around 7:30 a.m. today, the suspect dropped off the girl near the Fresno airport, authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol spotted the truck a short time later and pulled it over. The driver was taken into custody without incident, CHP spokesman Officer Rich Wetzel said. His name has not yet been released.
Wetzel said the girl appears to be OK but will be evaluated by medical personnel to see if she suffered any injuries.
Minutes before Elisa was abducted, Fresno police received a call about a separate incident in which a man matching the suspect’s description dropped his pants and exposed himself to two other young girls.
Investigators are looking into whether the man in custody is connected to that case.
The FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children both assisted in the statewide search.
Fresno police this morning were searching isolated and secluded areas, including nearby hotels, motels, bus depots, train stations, schools and parks. A door-to-door search was carried out in the immediate area of the abduction.
Anyone with information about the case should call 911 or the Fresno Police Department at (559) 621-7000.
8 AM: An 8-year-old girl who was abducted Monday evening from outside a Fresno apartment complex has been found and is safe, police said this morning.
A statewide Amber Alert was issued for Elisa Cardenaz, who had last been seen wearing a light purple sweater with Winnie the Pooh on the front and blue jeans.
A police dispatcher this morning confirmed she had been found safe but could not provide details.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., a man in a pickup truck pulled up in front of an apartment complex at 2751 E. Hammond Ave. near a group of children who were playing.
The man approached a 6-year-old girl and Elisa, who started to walk with the man as the younger girl walked away, police said.
Female witnesses yelled at the children to get away from the man, who then grabbed Elisa and pushed her into the truck’s cab.
Although Elisa’s mother hopped into a car and tried to chase the truck, she lost track of it, police said.
The truck was described as a late 70s or early 80s Ford or Chevy pickup truck with a distinctive 6-inch white horizontal stripe on its sides.
Police have located images of the truck that were captured on surveillance video and said at 6:30 a.m. that they were trying to extract its license plate number.
Minutes before Elisa was abducted, Fresno police received a call for a separate incident in which a man matching the suspect’s description dropped his pants and exposed himself to two other young girls.
The FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children were both assisting in the statewide search.
Fresno police this morning were searching isolated and secluded areas, including nearby hotels, motels, bus depots, train stations, schools and parks.
A door-to-door search was carried out in the immediate area of the abduction.
Anyone with information about the case should call 911 or the Fresno Police Department at (559) 621-7000.
7:50 AM: According to reports from CNN, Elisa Cardenaz has been found safe, but the suspect in her abduction remains at large.
7:23 AM: Police and federal law enforcement agents are searching for an 8-year-old girl who was abducted Monday evening outside a Fresno apartment complex where she and other children were at play, police said.
A statewide Amber Alert was issued for Elisa Cardenaz, who was last seen wearing a light purple sweater with Winnie the Pooh on the front and light blue jeans, according to Fresno police.
Elisa is 4 feet tall, weighs 60 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.
The unknown suspect is described as a white or Hispanic man in his early 20s, between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall, with a medium build.
At about 8:28 p.m., the male suspect pulled up in a pickup truck in front of an apartment complex at 2751 E. Hammond Ave. near a group of children who had been outside playing.
The man approached a 6-year-old girl and Elisa, who started to walk with the man as the younger girl walked away, police said at a press conference this morning.
Female witnesses yelled at the children to get away from the man, who then grabbed Elisa and pushed her into the truck’s cab.
Although Elisa’s mother hopped into a vehicle and attempted to pursue the truck, she was unable to locate the suspect, police said.
The truck is a late 70s or early 80s Ford or Chevy pickup truck with a distinctive 6-inch wide white horizontal stripe on its sides.
Police have located images of the truck from surveillance video and said at 6:30 a.m. that they are working on extracting the vehicle’s license plate number.
Minutes before Elisa was abducted, Fresno police received a call for a separate incident where a man matching the suspect’s description dropped his pants and exposed himself to two other young girls.
The FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children are both assisting in the statewide search.
Fresno police have been searching isolated and secluded areas, including nearby hotels, motels, bus depots, train stations, schools and parks.
A door-to-door search in the immediate area of the abduction has also failed to yield any leads in the case.
Possible sightings should be reported by calling 911 or the Fresno Police Department at (559) 621-7000.
