A Georgia mother and her 6-year-old daughter were found in Tijuana, Mexico, after they were allegedly abducted by the woman’s ex-husband.
Authorities issued an AMBER Alert for Rachel Zecena, 6, after she and her mother, Balvanera Esperanz Parada-Olivas, 45, disappeared on Sunday, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The pair were reported missing on Monday, but by then they were reportedly in Arizona, where the state Department of Public Safety reported a sighting in Yavapai County, according to KNXV. At the time, they were traveling westbound on Interstate 40 near Seligman and were believed to be heading for California.
According to WAGA, Parada-Olivas dropped her boyfriend off at an area hospital, saying she was going to pick up Rachel at the home of ex-husband, Alexis Zecena-Lopez, in Cumming.
Cumming Police Chief David Marsh said that Zecena-Lopez was out of jail on bond while awaiting trial for previously kidnapping Parada-Olivas, and he had cut off his ankle monitor before fleeing with the pair.
US Marshals and the FBI announced Wednesday they had tracked the group to Mexico. Zecena-Lopez has been arrested and is awaiting extradition.
“It was a real weight off us to know that she was in fact ok, that Rachel was ok, and that Alex had been taken into custody without any major issue,” said Marsh. “We really appreciate the US Marshalls Office and the FBI for helping us out with this investigation. We got leads locally that we were able to pass on to them that they worked in real time, and I think the cooperation from everybody was what was most beneficial to getting them back into safety.”
Parada-Olivas and her daughter are expected back in Georgia this week.
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