Rescued Utah Teen Found Safe in Mexico
A missing Utah teen and her two cousins have been found safe nearly two weeks after they disappeared in Mexico, the FBI said in a statement to ABC News.
Authorities said 14-year-old Elizabeth Gonzalez and her two cousins, 6-year-old Sofia Mailen Moreno Zamora and 4-year-old Reggie Regina Moreno Zamora disappeared on June 30 while Gonzalez was visiting family in Mexico City.
Mexican authorities found the couple in Veracruz, Mexico, shortly after the FBI identified 31-year-old Antonio Moreno, the biological father of Gonzalez’s two cousins, as a suspect in their disappearance, they said. Three girls. Moreno allegedly took the three girls without their mother’s permission.
The Discovery and Capture
Moreno was arrested along with the girls in Veracruz, according to the FBI.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed Gonzalez and her Mexican cousins getting into a taxi with Moreno. The FBI believes Gonzalez was allegedly “manipulated” into the taxi by Moreno.
The four are believed to have traveled together.
Legal Actions and Extradition
An Amber Alert was launched for the three girls on July 1, according to Mexican authorities.
The FBI has issued a federal arrest warrant for Moreno on charges related to Gonzalez’s disappearance, including kidnapping. The United States will seek Moreno’s extradition, according to the FBI.
Moreno had been living in Kaysville, Utah, for the past three years before suddenly traveling to Mexico and allegedly taking the three girls.
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