Kidnaped Girl Retrieved--Thanks to Bloodhound

A toddler kidnaped from a self-service laundry was tracked down by a bloodhound Sunday and reunited with relatives, police said.

The 2 1/2-year-old girl was playing in the front door of the laundry at 2429 W. McFadden Ave. at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday while her aunt and uncle did the family wash. The youngster was picked up and carried away by a young man while the aunt and uncle were busy, Police Sgt. Art Echternacht said.

A door-to-door search and interviews with several witnesses and suspects helped narrow the area police worked in, Echternacht said, and they were led to a residence in the 900 block of West Bishop Street, about 2 miles from the kidnap scene.

“After further investigation, a bloodhound from the sheriff’s office located a specific apartment,” he said. “The suspect came out and was taken into custody. The child was found inside” at about 6:45 a.m.

Police tentatively identified the suspect as Jacobo Rogello, 25, of Santa Ana.

Rogello was being questioned by investigators early Sunday. No motive for the kidnaping has been established, Echternacht said.

The girl was examined for possible abuse and then returned to her aunt and uncle. Police said they did not know the results of the exam.

Sable, the bloodhound, had been given the child’s scent from several articles of her clothing taken from her aunt and uncle’s residence, Echternacht said.

Police did not disclose the names of the girl’s aunt and uncle or her parents.