Police have arrested a Virginia man suspected of kidnapping a girl after a resident spotted them both at a Safeway store in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond neighborhood this afternoon.
Jeffrey Scott Easley, 32, was suspected of kidnapping the girl in Virginia’s Roanoke County last week, police from that county said.
Brittany Mae Smith, 12, was found unharmed with Easley at about 2 p.m. when a San Francisco resident spotted the pair at the Safeway at 48th Avenue and Fulton Street, according to San Francisco and Roanoke County police.
The resident recognized Easley and Smith after watching a report on the alleged kidnapping on CNN, San Francisco police Sgt. Michael Andraychak said.
Shortly after spotting them, the resident called 911, and responding officers detained them and confirmed their identities, Andraychak said.
Smith was taken to a Child Protective Services shelter at an undisclosed location, and Easley was booked in San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping.
Before today’s sighting, Easley and Smith hadn’t been seen since surveillance caught them on Dec. 3 at a Walmart in Salem, Va., buying camping gear, Roanoke County police said.
Smith’s mother, Tina Smith, 41, was found dead at her home in Virginia’s Roanoke County on Monday at about 9:30 a.m., Roanoke County police said. Her death is being investigated as a possible homicide.
Photos of Easley, Smith: Bay City News
Saul Sugarman, Bay City News
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