Florida Child’s Lookalike Found : Hunt for Kidnaped Girl Called Off

An intensive search for a 6-year-old Florida girl believed seen with a man in the Los Angeles Harbor area was called off Thursday when police reported finding a father and daughter who closely resemble the missing child and the man believed to have kidnaped her.

The local hunt began last weekend, after a witness saw a televised photograph of Regina Armstrong, kidnaped by an unidentified man from in front of her Orlando home June 18. The witness told police that he recognized her as the girl he had seen alighting with a man from a bus at Pacific Coast Highway and Western Avenue in Harbor City a week ago Thursday. Several other Harbor-area residents then notified Los Angeles police that they had seen the kidnap victim and a man at various locations.

Parents Make Trip

Regina’s parents, Bob and Donna Armstrong, flew here from Florida.

On Tuesday, Harbor Division Capt. Bob Medina said yet another resident called to say a child and man who boarded the bus every morning at 9th Street and Pacific Avenue in San Pedro looked like the photo of Regina and the composite drawing of her kidnaper published in newspapers.

Two detectives were aboard the bus Wednesday morning. The man and child got on. However, the girl was not Regina Armstrong, and the man, a San Pedro resident, was her father.

“There was a striking similarity between this citizen’s daughter and Regina,” Medina said Thursday. “And quite a resemblance between him and the composite.”

Almost Identical

A policewoman said the ages, sizes and faces of the unidentified San Pedro girl and the abducted Florida child were almost identical.

“It was incredible,” she said. “An honest mistake.”

Two witnesses, Medina said, were “still quite adamant” that the girl that they saw was Regina and not the San Pedro girl police found.

“The guy who saw them getting off the bus initially is one of those who contends this is not the one he saw,” Medina said.

Nevertheless, police were no longer canvassing the area door to door.

The missing girl’s parents were reportedly trying to decide whether to go home or to wait longer.