'On My Knees In Praise'; Abducted Modesto Boy Found Safe In Dublin
DUBLIN (CBS SF) -- A desperate search for a six-year-old boy who was ripped from his mother's arms and abducted by his father ended early Tuesday with his discovery in Dublin, authorities said.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Sacramento that six-year-old Jayce Alexander Cosso was found safe in a at La Quinta Inn & Suites at 6275 Dublin Blvd. at 7:45 a.m. with his father and step brother, who were taken into custody.
Alameda County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said investigators had received a tip that the boy and his father were at the motel and surveillance was set up.
When the father and son came out of the motel a short time later, officers detained the father and step-brother and safely took the son into protective custody.
"There was good collaboration and cooperation" between the officers from different agencies who worked together, Kelly said.
Kimberly Valente, the boy's mother, was overwhelmed by the news.
"????????????????????????????????????????????????. I have no words yet. Haven't spoken to anyone on law enforcement side yet but I got a text saying he was found and safe this morning.
Thank you!!!!! On my knees in praise. On my knees in so much praise," she wrote on Facebook. "Appreciation for every soul, every breath, every prayer.
I have no news that you don't have. What you all know, at this minute, is all I know. He's safe. Wasfound at a motel in Dublin. That's all I know. "Thank you" doesn't even touch what I feel."
She had issued a social media plea earlier on Tuesday.
"LOOK FOR EVERY MAN TRAVELING WITH CHILD," she posted on her Facebook page. "LOOK FOR THE FACES THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED OVER THE LAST ALMOST-24 HOURS. PLEASE ???????????????? PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TODAY. PLEASE LOOK AT CARS AND FACES AND PAY ATTENTION TO ANYTHING THAT DOESNT SEEM RIGHT. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT MATTER THE MOST. THE PUBLIC HAS THE POWER TO BRING JAYCE HOME."
Across Northern California, morning commuters were greeted with Amber Alert roadside signs displaying the father's car description -- a black 2012 Ford Fusion with California license plate number 8BDY654.
Authorities said Jayce Alexander Cosso was abducted from his home on the 3700 block of Poinsettia Drive in Modesto at about 7:30 a.m. Monday by his father, 41-year-old John Christopher Cosso.
Valente said that Cosso and a group of men dressed as utility workers used pepper spray to force their way inside her home. She ran with her son to the garage to try and drive away, but she said the men blocked her and took Jayce from her lap.
Police were also looking for Renee Quijada, who they are calling a person of interest in the abduction.