Abducted Child, Parents Reunited

A 3-year-old boy was reunited with his parents Tuesday afternoon, hours after police discovered him on a commercial bus and arrested his grandmother on suspicion of kidnapping him and stealing the family car.

Detectives handed a smiling Miles Davis back to his parents, Dnesha and Verryn Harper, at their North Long Beach apartment complex at 3 p.m., as scores of neighbors applauded. The boy, who had been missing from home since 2:30 p.m. Sunday, was found in Sacramento, along with his grandmother, Paula Fusilier, 53.

Police said the grandmother took the son from his parents because she was obsessed with the boy, and planned to take him to Seattle, where she has relatives. Dnesha Harper said her mother had lost her own son at an early age and said Miles reminded her strongly of the dead child. Harper said that shortly after Miles was born, Fusilier took him and kept him from his parents for 20 months.

Police said that in the most recent incident, Fusilier put the child in the parents’ car, along with a pile of clothing and the family dog, and sped off. The parents were out at the time, and had left the boy in her care.

Police said their first break in the case came on Monday, when an LAPD officer discovered the family’s missing Dodge Neon abandoned in Van Nuys. Dogs led police from the car to a public bus bench nearby. The second break came when an anonymous caller said the grandmother and boy were on a bus to Seattle.

Detective Richard Birdsall said the boy was in excellent condition and in good spirits when they found him. However, they did not know what happened to the family’s dog. The grandmother remains in custody in Sacramento.