Kidnapped boy is safe

Six-year-old Cole Puffinburger was the subject of a desperate four-day search after police said he was kidnapped at gunpoint by Mexican drug dealers. But it was a bus driver who ultimately found him, healthy, unharmed and walking on an empty sidewalk here, authorities said Sunday.

The driver spotted Cole walking near the Strip about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and pulled over to offer the boy a ride. When he realized who he was, the driver called police. Two detectives, who were handing out missing person fliers nearby, arrived to retrieve Cole.

“It’s a blessing this child has been found,” Las Vegas Police Capt. Vincent Cannito said at a news conference early Sunday. He said that Cole was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure but that the boy appeared healthy and in “extremely good condition.”

Police say they think the boy was kidnapped by Mexican drug dealers as revenge after being ripped off by the child’s grandfather.

The abduction alarmed law enforcement because it resembled kidnappings that are common in Mexico, where warring drug cartels snatch rivals, children and civilians.

Police said Cole was taken Wednesday by three gunmen who tied up his mother and her boyfriend and ransacked their house. Police said the abduction was triggered by millions of dollars stolen from a drug cartel by Clemons Tinnemeyer, Cole’s maternal grandfather.

Tinnemeyer, 51, had been hiding for several weeks but was arrested late Friday in Riverside. He is being held as a material witness and is due to appear in federal court there today.

Police have not explained how they think he took money from the drug cartel but say he is involved in drug trafficking.

On Saturday, police served search warrants in Las Vegas and other areas and reported recovering large amounts of cash. A photo of a man believed to be involved in the abduction, Jesus Gastelum, was released and broadcast nationally. They said another person of interest was in custody.

Police said that Cole was dropped off on Oakey Boulevard about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and that they were uncertain why he was released but speculated that his abductors were spooked by the national attention.

“They definitely didn’t feel comfortable sitting there with this kid,” Las Vegas police spokesman John Loretto said.

Police said their investigation was shifting to untangling the kidnapping scheme.

“The investigation regarding this child is concluded,” Cannito said. “The remainder of the investigation shifts, and our focus now goes onto the drug dealing, to potential extortion issues as well as other issues certainly that are involved in this investigation.”

Cole was released to his father, Robert Puffinburger, 28, who joined police at the Sunday news conference wearing a shirt emblazoned with his son’s photo and on the verge of tears.

“I thank this whole community. I can’t thank you enough,” he said. “Thank you so much for helping me find my son.”

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nicholas.riccardi@latimes.com