Helicopter Crew Helps in Rescue of Kidnaped Girl
Quick action by a police helicopter crew Thursday brought rescue for a 19-month-old girl, just 90 minutes after she was kidnaped from a store in South Los Angeles.
Police said Nicole Johnson disappeared about 1 p.m., while following her parents around a store in the 8200 block of South Vermont Avenue. The parents searched nearby streets, and then notified police.
About an hour later, a helicopter crew spotted the child sitting on the lap of a woman at a swap meet not far from the store and alerted ground units, who closed in to arrest Joyce Welch, 28, on suspicion of kidnaping.
Welch was held at Sybil Brand Institute in lieu of $6,000 bail.
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