Jennifer, Mother Reunited; Alleged Abductor Sought

Three-year-old Jennifer Lend Ruengsri hugged her mother just hours after they were reunited, as relatives of her alleged teen-age abductor made a public plea Saturday for the disturbed young girl, who is still at large, to come home.

In another twist to an already unusual kidnaping, Jennifer’s mother joined the mother and sister of kidnaping suspect Dana Jennifer O’Hair, 16, at a Saturday news conference to celebrate Jennifer’s return and beg Dana to turn herself in to authorities.

“I have never turned my back on my daughter, and I never will,” said Dana’s mother, a tearful 41-year-old Anaheim woman who refused to give her name but permitted the media to photograph her and Dana’s 23-year-old sister. “I just want her to come home. The police are not interested in making a criminal out of her. They want to help her.”

Jennifer was allegedly taken from her Huntington Beach home early Thursday by Dana, who was described by her mother as “an emotionally disturbed runaway.” Dana had been staying with Jennifer’s mother, Rungrachanee Ruengsri, 19, and uncle, Suchait Ruengsri, 21, whose family came to the United States from Thailand.

Jennifer was found unharmed late Friday night after police received a telephone report that a little girl matching Jennifer’s description was seen wandering alone at 10 p.m. near Anaheim’s Sage Park, Anaheim Police Lt. Chet Barry said Saturday.

Ronnie Bruce Starnes, 18, of Anaheim told police he recognized Jennifer from news reports as the toddler walked east on North Street from Lido Lane, sources said. Starnes told police that the little girl was alone.

The dark-haired child was reunited with her mother late Friday night, after Rungrachanee Ruengsri identified Jennifer as her daughter, Huntington Beach Police Sgt. James Cutshaw said. The little girl was examined at UCI Medical Center in Orange, where doctors found no evidence of physical or sexual abuse, Cutshaw said. After she was pronounced in good condition, she was allowed to return home with her mother.

A search was continuing late Saturday for Dana, who was “wanted for questioning in this matter,” Cutshaw said.

Police and Dana’s relatives have said they believe the teen-ager took the toddler to replace her own daughter, Nikita, who was stillborn last October.

According to Huntington Beach police, Dana had been staying at the apartment in the 4900 block of Heil Avenue since March 1, when Suchait Ruengsri met her outside a Huntington Beach restaurant and invited her to stay at his house because he felt sorry for her. Dana had played with Jennifer for several days and asked the toddler’s mother if she could be the child’s “pretend” mother.

Found Child Gone

But Rungrachanee Ruengsri asked her brother to tell Dana to leave after finding some of her jewelry in the young woman’s purse. When Jennifer’s mother awoke at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, she saw the sliding glass door to the apartment wide open and found that both Dana and the child were gone.

“She doesn’t remember anything,” Ruengsri said of her daughter, who played happily nearby during the brief news conference at the Adam Walsh Children’s Center in Orange. “She thinks she went for a ride and had fun.”

As for herself, Ruengsri said Saturday that she was “a little tired, happy.”

“I stayed by the door (during the ordeal),” she said. “I don’t have a phone. I drove around and looked for her (Jennifer). . . . I just kept hoping she’d walk through that door.”

The demeanor of the two mothers contrasted starkly Saturday as they stood together in the glare of the camera lights. Ruengsri was quiet, relieved and visibly happy. Dana’s mother clutched a sodden tissue and frequently broke into tears.

“I just feel very bad that this happened,” she said, wiping her red-rimmed eyes. “I am so grateful that this baby has been found. But now my baby is gone, and we want her to come back.”

Premature Birth

Dana’s mother said her daughter became pregnant in 1986 and last October delivered a premature, stillborn daughter. The baby was born two months early and died of complications from an Rh factor in her blood.

“That’s all she talked about--that baby and what a good mother she was going to be,” the tearful woman said. “The last few times I saw her, she started crying and talking about Nikita, and it seemed like she wanted to get pregnant again.”

Dana’s mother, who last saw her daughter Feb. 19, said she thought her daughter took Jennifer to try to replace her lost baby.

“Dana took Jennifer because she fell in love with her and had lost a little girl,” the woman said. “In Dana’s mind, that’s what her little girl would have looked like.”

Dana’s mother also said she thought that leaving Jennifer in Sage Park was a “deliberate act” on her daughter’s part--a way to give the child back to Ruengsri. The woman said her daughter was no danger to herself or others, but that she was a troubled girl who “kept everything inside.”

“I’ve been trying to get help for Dana for three years and have come upon a blank wall,” the woman said. “The police kept telling me there is nothing they can do until she breaks a law.”

Dana’s Description

Dana had not been found as of Saturday evening. She is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall, about 110 pounds, with blue eyes and dark brown hair worn “punk” style, with one side slicked back and the other spiked.

Although the Huntington Beach and Anaheim police departments were deluged Thursday and Friday with tips on the whereabouts of Dana and Jennifer, the last confirmed sighting of the two before Jennifer’s return came Thursday.

They were last seen getting off an Orange County Transit District bus at Chestnut Street and Orange Avenue in Santa Ana at about 11 a.m.

The Saturday morning press conference was originally planned to have been a double plea by the two mothers for the return of their daughters. But Jennifer’s return changed it into the beginning of a search for Dana O’Hair.

“This is a difficult situation,” said Pam Harris-Odekerk, assistant director of the Adam Walsh center. “She (Dana) is wanted, but she’s still a minor and needs help. We are going to attempt to locate her, and if she wants to turn herself in, she can call.”

According to police and juvenile justice officials, Dana probably will not be dealt with harshly if she is found.

“I truly think that she will be seen as as much of a victim as the little girl, and, accordingly, the situation would probably be handled informally in counseling,” said one juvenile justice source. “I would be extremely surprised if the district attorney pressed charges.”

Because Dana is a minor, Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Bill Peterson said it is not clear what she would be charged with if she is found.

“If she were an adult, I’d tell you automatically; we’d file kidnaping charges,” Peterson said. “But because she’s a juvenile, and for sure she has some problems, she’s not going to do 20 years in prison, I can tell you that.”

Times staff writer Lanie Jones contributed to this story.