Eight-year-old American girl missing since 2018 when she was kidnapped in a Washington shopping center is found safe and sound in Mexico and returned to the United States
- Aranza María Ochoa López was kidnapped by her mother on October 25, 2018
- It was found by Mexican authorities in February in the state of Michoacán.
An eight-year-old American girl who has been missing since 2018 when she was abducted from a shopping mall has been found safe and sound in Mexico and returned to the United States.
Aranza María Ochoa López was kidnapped by her biological mother on October 25, 2018, at a shopping center in Vancouver, Washington, according to the FBI, who announced her return on Wednesday.
Lopez had a supervised visit with her mother, Esmeralda Lopez-Lopez, the day she went missing, the FBI confirmed to CBS News.
Mexican authorities safely recovered it in February in Michoacán, a state in western Mexico.
FBI special agents took Lopez back to the US after they found her.
Aranza María Ochoa López was kidnapped by her biological mother on October 25, 2018, at a shopping center in Vancouver, Washington, according to the FBI.
The FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for information that could help them with the search.
After the kidnapping, the FBI determined that the eight-year-old girl was taken to Mexico.
Her mother was detained in September 2019 in Puebla, a city in central-eastern Mexico, while the search for the girl continued.
Her mother, Esmeralda López-López, was detained in September 2019 in Puebla, a city in central-eastern Mexico, while the search for the girl continued.
He pleaded guilty in 2021 to second-degree kidnapping, robbery and first-degree custodial interference, according to local newspaper The Columbian.
Richard A. Collodi, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office, said law enforcement never gave up searching for Lopez.
“For more than four years, the FBI and our partners did not give up on Aranza,” Collodi said.
‘Our concern now will be to support Aranza as he begins his reintegration into the US.’
The FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for information that could help with the search.
They worked with the Vancouver Police in Washington and law enforcement in Mexico on the investigation.
Most kidnapped children are taken by family members, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Only 1 percent of missing child cases are abductions by non-family members, according to the center’s data.