AMBER ALERT IN California for girl taken from home
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2003 10:37 am
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A 9-year-old girl was abducted from her family's home by an intruder who apparently broke in through a window and hid, then beat the girl's mother and teenage brother before fleeing in his car, police said.
The girl's mother and 13-year-old brother told authorities after Friday's abudction that they had never seen the man before, said Katherine Unger, a San Jose police spokeswoman.
"God forbid we don't find this girl tonight," Unger said. "We are so fearful that something bad could happen to her."
The suspect threw the girl, Janette Tamayo, into the back seat of a car that he had previously backed in the family's garage and ensconced behind the closed door, Unger said. It was unclear if he struggled with the mother and brother before or after putting the girl in the car.
After the bleeding and distraught mother called 911 from a neighbor's home at about 4:30 p.m., police fanned out over the South San Jose (search) neighborhood.
Unger said Janette, a fourth-grader with long brown hair streaked with blonde, usually spent afternoons with a baby sitter. It was not clear whether the baby sitter was there when the man broke in; the mother and brother said they were attacked by the suspect after arriving home together, she said.
The California Highway Patrol issued a statewide Amber Alert (search) at 7:30 p.m. alerting motorists to be on the lookout for a tan or silver sedan that witnesses reported seeing fleeing from the area.
The mother was taken to an area hospital for her injuries, which included wounds to her face and "massive head injuries," but her condition was not known, Unger said.
The suspect also attempted to choke the boy with such force he told authorities it felt as if "the guy was trying to break his neck," Unger said.
"It was a pretty brutal fight, I'll tell you that," she said.
Authorities described the suspect as short and in his early 20s. They said he had a deep scratch on his face from his struggle with Janette's mother.
Since the suspect also spoke Spanish, "our natural fear is that he is taking off to Mexico," Unger said.
The girl's mother and 13-year-old brother told authorities after Friday's abudction that they had never seen the man before, said Katherine Unger, a San Jose police spokeswoman.
"God forbid we don't find this girl tonight," Unger said. "We are so fearful that something bad could happen to her."
The suspect threw the girl, Janette Tamayo, into the back seat of a car that he had previously backed in the family's garage and ensconced behind the closed door, Unger said. It was unclear if he struggled with the mother and brother before or after putting the girl in the car.
After the bleeding and distraught mother called 911 from a neighbor's home at about 4:30 p.m., police fanned out over the South San Jose (search) neighborhood.
Unger said Janette, a fourth-grader with long brown hair streaked with blonde, usually spent afternoons with a baby sitter. It was not clear whether the baby sitter was there when the man broke in; the mother and brother said they were attacked by the suspect after arriving home together, she said.
The California Highway Patrol issued a statewide Amber Alert (search) at 7:30 p.m. alerting motorists to be on the lookout for a tan or silver sedan that witnesses reported seeing fleeing from the area.
The mother was taken to an area hospital for her injuries, which included wounds to her face and "massive head injuries," but her condition was not known, Unger said.
The suspect also attempted to choke the boy with such force he told authorities it felt as if "the guy was trying to break his neck," Unger said.
"It was a pretty brutal fight, I'll tell you that," she said.
Authorities described the suspect as short and in his early 20s. They said he had a deep scratch on his face from his struggle with Janette's mother.
Since the suspect also spoke Spanish, "our natural fear is that he is taking off to Mexico," Unger said.
