Baby boy abducted by stranger from San Jose apartment found safe; 3 arrested
Authorities have located a baby boy who was abducted by a stranger from an apartment in San Jose Monday. Three suspects have been arrested.
Three-month-old Brandon Cuellar was located Tuesday morning, San Jose police reported. The boy was taken to a hospital as a precaution, but was in good condition.
Among the three people who have been arrested was a suspect who police believe was the masked man who was seen on surveillance abducting the baby Monday, along with a woman who investigators said was with the boy's grandmother prior to the abduction, according to CBS San Francisco.
"This was a person who was with the grandmother yesterday when they went shopping, she was present at the apartment complex when this happened," San Jose police spokesman Sgt. Christian Camarillo said in a news briefing Tuesday. "These has been some inconsistencies with what she has told us. Obviously, drawing our attention to what she knows about this."
It's unclear exactly where the boy were found. The suspects had some previous connection his family.
"We know there is some connection to the family, but we don't know exactly what that connection is," San Jose Assistant Police Chief Paul Joseph said. "That will be determined during the course of the investigation."
According to police, security cameras showed a man walking into an apartment and taking Cuellar at around 12:50 p.m. Monday.
Cuellar's family told police they did not recognize the man. Security images released by police showed the suspect holding a boy believed to be Brandon in a car seat covered in a blanket.
According to CBS San Francisco, police said the baby was being watched by his grandmother while his mother was at work. The grandmother allegedly took the baby to a grocery store, then returned to an apartment. She took Brandon into the apartment, then went back to her car to retrieve more groceries and returned to the apartment to find Brandon gone.
"She took the baby in the apartment, went downstairs to unload some groceries, in that short about of time, someone entered the apartment, you guys have the images and the video of this person, and left with the baby," Camarillo said Monday.
No Amber Alert was issued because there was initially no vehicle or license plate associated with the disappearance, per CBS San Francisco. On Tuesday morning, California Highway Patrol tweeted out a photo and description of a possible suspect vehicle, but within an hour, Camarillo asked for it to be taken down, stating "it will compromise" their investigation. CHP then deleted the tweet.