Infant Found Safe : Police Recover Kidnaped Baby Girl; Suspect Is Arrested

A 6-month-old Highland Park girl whose kidnaping triggered an around-the-clock police search was recovered unharmed Monday night, and the child’s suspected abductor has been arrested, authorities said.

Two detectives found the baby, Jessica Flores, at a South-Central Los Angeles house about 8 p.m., police said. The woman suspected of abducting the child, Carmen Bautista, 36, was arrested 90 minutes later at the same house, investigators said. She is also known as Carmen Flores, police said, but investigators said it was unclear if she is related to the child.

“The baby is fine,” said Lt. Raul Vega at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Division station. “She’s been cooing downstairs.”

A neighbor who knew the child’s mother provided the information that led to the child’s recovery and the woman’s arrest, detectives said.

Vega said police have established no motive for the abduction. “That’s something we hope to learn as we talk to the suspect and others involved in this case,” he said.

The infant was abducted about 6 p.m. Friday from her home in the 400 block of North Avenue 50 by a woman who posed as an Avon saleswoman. Authorities said the mother, Martina Lara, 32, was leaving her home when she stopped on her porch to speak with the woman.

Lara left the infant with a man and woman who shared the house. When they left the room briefly, police said, the kidnaper went inside and grabbed the child from a sofa.

Lara made emotional appeals on Spanish-language radio and television stations, pleading for the child’s return. She received a phone call from the woman early Saturday and another Saturday night. Each time, the abductor spoke of returning the child.

A spokeswoman for New York-based Avon Products said company officials were working with police to determine if the woman was among 8,000 Avon saleswomen in Los Angeles or a “sub-seller” who sells Avon products.