Kidnapped Girl Found In San Francisco Heads Home; Suspect Due In Court
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) - A missing 12-year-old Virginia girl who was found unharmed Friday in San Francisco was heading home Monday.
Roanoke County spokesman Gray Craig said Brittany Mae Smith and two police escorts were expected back sometime Monday afternoon.
Smith and her accused abductor, 32-year-old Jeffrey Scott Easley, were found Friday after being recognized outside a Safeway supermarket in San Francisco.
The two hadn't been seen since they were spotted Dec. 3 on a surveillance video at a Walmart store about 5 miles from Roanoke.
The girl's mother and Easley's girlfriend, Tina Smith, was found dead last week at their southwestern Virginia home. Police consider her death a homicide.
Easley was expected to have his extradition hearing Tuesday morning in San Francisco.
KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:
Easley reportedly spoke with Roanoke detectives Sunday, but details about the conversation were not immediately released.
"As you know, everyone's goal for the past week has been to find 12-year-old Brittany Smith and reunite her with her family," emphasized investigator John McPhail. "Now that she's been found and will be headed back to Roanoke soon, the Roanoke County Police Department's focus has shifted to the murder investigation."
Brittany also reportedly spoke with detectives from Virginia.
Eyewitnesses said they had seen the suspect with Brittany panhandling in San Francisco. The pair also is believed to have slept at Ocean Beach.
Easley was arrested after being reported to authorities in or near a San Francisco Safeway store.
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