Girl Found at Relative’s Home After Search
When a 9-year-old girl didn’t meet her mother after a scheduled cheerleading practice Monday afternoon, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, Oxnard police officers and 30 community volunteers combed the Hollywood Beach neighborhood.
After nearly three hours of searching, Antoinette Simental was found safe at her grandmother’s home in Oxnard.
“We all breathed a collective sigh of relief,” said Ventura County Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Chuck Buttell. “All’s well that ends well.”
When Antoinette’s after-school cheerleading practice was canceled Monday, Antoinette’s grandmother retrieved her, taking her to her home.
Antoinette’s mother, Darlene Figueroa, meanwhile, picked up an earlier telephone message from her daughter that the cheerleading practice was canceled. When Figueroa arrived at Hollywood Beach Elementary School about 4 p.m., there was no sign of Antoinette.
“It was one series of miscommunications after another,” Buttell said.
Panicked, Figueroa started canvassing the neighborhood. By 6 p.m., she called the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
A helicopter, 14 Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, some Oxnard police officers and 30 residents sprung to action to look for the girl who was located at 8:50 p.m. when Figueroa was able to reach her mother by phone.
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