Infant sought in Amber Alert is found unharmed; father arrested in connection with abduction
A 2-month-old boy whose abduction sparked a large manhunt throughout Los Angeles County was found unharmed Saturday, and his father was arrested in connection with the kidnapping, authorities said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department “is very happy to let you know, baby Jefferson Gomes was found,” the department’s Santa Clarita Station announced. “He was not harmed and he is safe.”
The boy’s father, Jeffrey Michael Gomes, 42, was taken into custody, the department said. No other details were available.
An Amber Alert was issued Friday for the boy who authorities say was abducted by his father in the Gorman area.
Gomes was reported to be traveling with his son in a white 2007 Chevrolet 2500 pickup with California license tag 02390P1, according to the alert. The vehicle was seen Friday heading north on Interstate 5.
“The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous,” the official statement said, noting that the child was last seen about 1 p.m.
About 5:15 a.m. Saturday, someone reported seeing a white pickup truck matching the description of Gomes’ vehicle leaving the Central Terminal Area at Los Angeles International Airport and traveling east on Century Boulevard, Los Angeles Airport Police Officer Rob Pedregon told City News Service.
But authorities were unable to locate the truck at the time.
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Twitter: @kchristensenLAT
UPDATES:
2 p.m.: This article was updated with information that the baby had been found and the father had been arrested.
11:15 a.m. Nov. 4: This article was updated with new information from police about a possible sighting of the suspect’s vehicle at LAX.
This article was originally published at 7:15 p.m. Friday.
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