Link of Kidnaping Suspect to Other Incidents Investigated

Southland police tried to determine Monday whether the suspected kidnaper of a homeless Orange County girl might have attempted to abduct at least 10 other Los Angeles-area children by luring them into his pickup truck.

Detectives from four South Bay cities and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said they are interested in learning more about Eduardo Uzcanga, a transient arrested Sunday afternoon by Santa Ana police a day after a 6-year-old girl was kidnaped.

“Some things match and some things don’t,” said Manhattan Beach Police Sgt. Jack Zea. “We are going to look at him anyway. We are trying to get pictures of him and look at his background to see where he has been the last couple weeks.”

The Santa Ana youngster was abducted about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Officials said her mother, who has three children, is homeless. Police found the child wandering in the same area about two hours later. Detectives are awaiting the results of a medical examination to determine if she was sexually assaulted.

Uzcanga, 48, on parole from an attempted murder conviction in Santa Ana, is being held in Orange County Jail. Officials with the Orange County district attorney’s office say they expect to file a one-count kidnaping charge against him.

Police also confiscated Uzcanga’s pickup truck, a dark blue Chevrolet with a white camper shell. The girl’s mother told police she saw a man in a blue pickup truck grab her daughter.

The Santa Ana kidnapping is at least the 11th reported incident of its type in the Southland involving a dark-haired man with a mustache, who drove up to girls in a dark blue pickup. With the exception of the Santa Ana case, the children managed to get away and call for help, police said.

The attempted kidnapings were reported in Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach, Pico Rivera, Redondo Beach and Torrance between Sept. 13 and last Thursday. Police said the man allegedly told the children that their parents were hurt and that he was supposed to pick them up, police say.

Police said there are some differences in descriptions of the suspect provided by witnesses and the children. Zea said Uzcanga is older than the man described by most witnesses. Also, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach police say the suspect vehicle was described as a foreign-made compact truck, not a full-sized Chevrolet.