Vista Boy, 4, Being Held for Ransom

A 4-year-old Vista boy originally reported as missing last week was actually kidnaped and is being held for ransom, authorities said Saturday.

Gerardo Carillo Olvera disappeared from his living room about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday while his mother was showering, San Diego County sheriff’s officials said Saturday. The mother, Alicia Olvera, waited until early Thursday morning to report the incident because she thought she knew who took him and that he would be returned, officials said.

On Saturday, an acquaintance told Olvera that Gerardo had been abducted and would be returned in exchange for $200, said Lt. Linda Fulton, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

The acquaintance said he was relaying a message given to him by an unidentified man. The method of payment was not clear, Fulton said. No payment had been made Saturday night. The acquaintance was questioned by sheriff’s deputies and released.

Gerardo is 3-feet, 6-inches tall with brown hair and eyes. He was dressed in blue pants and a blue shirt with a yellow bird on it when he disappeared, and he has a 1 1/2-inch scar on the left side of his forehead. He was last seen at home in the 200 block of Pala Vista Drive.

Anyone with information on Gerardo’s whereabouts is asked to contact sheriff’s detectives at 565-5200.