2 Kidnaped Girls Rescued; Man Arrested

Two girls, one whom had been missing for six weeks, were rescued and a church repairman was arrested in their disappearances, police and sheriff’s officials said Monday.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Biondi said one of the girls was 4-year-old Candi Talarico, who was kidnaped June 4 in the state capital.

Candi and 5-year-old Muey Han Saefong, who police said was abducted Monday, were taken to University Medical Center here, where spokeswoman Linda King said “they seem to be fine.”

Sacramento police said Kenneth Alvin Michel, 32, was arrested for investigation of kidnaping. Police Sgt. Ron Meadors told reporters that Michel is deaf and that officers had to communicate with him by writing notes.

Found in Trunk

The girls were reportedly located at a church in Elk Grove, about 15 miles south of here. Muey was found in the trunk of a car, and Candi was located in a locker in a room at the church, KCRA-TV said. It said Michel worked as a repairman at the church.

Muey was unconscious when she was found. She had tape over her mouth and around her arms and legs, a KCRA reporter said.

Police Sgt. Bob Burns said earlier Monday that Muey was kidnaped by a man with a full beard just before 1 p.m. Monday on a street about 2 miles southeast of the Capitol.

The kidnaping followed an earlier incident in Elk Grove in which a man with a beard grabbed a 6-year-old girl and threw her into blue Ford Escort. But the girl escaped when her sister and another witness began yelling at the man, Burns said.

Burns said police got the license number of the vehicle in the Elk Grove incident and a partial number on the car in the Sacramento kidnaping.

Candi was kidnaped June 4 as she played with friends outside her apartment building, about 15 blocks southeast of the Capitol. A man with a mustache forced her into a blue sedan, police said.