A metro Atlanta 6-year-old girl and her mother, who authorities said were abducted by the child’s father, were found Wednesday in Mexico, police said.
An Amber Alert, known as a Levi’s Call in Georgia, was issued Tuesday on behalf of the Cumming Police Department. According to the GBI, 45-year-old Balvanera Esperanz Parada-Olivas and her daughter, Rachel Zecena, were last in contact with loved ones between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday. The girl’s father, 55-year-old Alexis R. Zecena-Lopez, may have taken the two against their will after a previous domestic incident, authorities said.
Rachel’s mother was referred to as both Balvanera Esperanz Parada-Olivas and Esperanza Parada-Olivas by law enforcement officials.
Sometime Wednesday, the two and Zecena-Lopez were located safely in Mexico, according to Cumming police Chief David Marsh. The girl and her mother are back in the United States with law enforcement, and Zecena-Lopez was arrested and is awaiting extradition, he added.
“I am very thankful to the U.S. marshals and FBI for all the hard work they put into helping track down Esperanza and Rachel and bringing them home safely,” Marsh said.
Credit: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Credit: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Police received the missing persons report Monday, which started their investigation and led to the department issuing the Levi’s Call later in the day.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Department of Public Safety issued a missing persons advisory for Parada-Olivas and Zecena across the state. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed reports that the black Ford Focus they were traveling in was spotted going westbound on I-40 through Seligman in western Arizona.
According to Marsh, Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies arrested Zecena-Lopez in August and charged him with rape and kidnapping in connection with an incident involving Parada-Olivas. Marsh said Zecena-Lopez was out on bond when he allegedly abducted his daughter and ex-wife.
Police say Zecena-Lopez cut off his ankle monitor sometime Sunday evening, and the tracking device last pinged in Cobb County. Marsh confirmed that Zecena-Lopez’s last known location before being found in Mexico was his house in Cumming, where Parada-Olivas had contact with him Sunday evening.
“She went to go pick up her daughter, and no one has seen or heard from either one of them since,” the police chief said earlier.
Zecena-Lopez is facing charges of violating his bond conditions out of Forsyth County and kidnapping out of Cumming, according to Marsh. Federal charges are also possible, he said.
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