California town’s sex offenders interviewed after Amber Alert rescue

A 3-year-old girl who was abducted from her small Central Valley town over the weekend appeared unharmed when she was rescued Monday, authorities said. Now the hunt is on for her abductor.

The California Highway Patrol issued a statewide Amber Alert for Tanya Ruiz after she was abducted about 7:45 p.m. Sunday in Huron, a 1.5-square-mile town of about 6,700 residents in Fresno County.

Tanya was strapped into her car seat when her mother went back inside the house to get her wallet, KABC-TV reported. When the mother came back out to her car, Tanya was gone.

On Monday, the girl was found and rescued by Fresno County sheriff’s deputies who saw her running through a field on the outskirts of town. Though she initially appeared unharmed, authorities have yet to confirm if that’s the case, said Lt. Rick Ko.

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Department’s abuse unit were investigating the abduction and interviewing about a dozen registered sex offenders who, according to the Megan’s Law website, call the town home.

Tanya was reunited with her mother Monday and taken to a medical facility to be evaluated for possible injuries, KFSN-TV reported.

Authorities described the suspect in the case as a man who is about 30 years old with long hair. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and red hat, they said.

There was no description of a vehicle.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

Twitter: @josephserna