Los Angeles police arrested a 26-year-old man, considered and armed dangerous, who snatched his 23-month-old daughter from her mother’s home in the Echo Park community of Los Angeles and safely recovered the child.
Police have not yet released any details about how and where Leonardo Rosales was found and arrested.
Catalina Reyes Canino was seen with her father, Rosales, about 10:45 p.m. Thursday in the area of South Reno Street and Beverly Boulevard, near the Echo Park community, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Officers responding about 10:45 p.m. Thursday to a radio call of a “kidnap in progress” in the 100 block of South Reno Street were met by the girl’s mother, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.
She told the officers that she and Rosales, her ex-boyfriend, had an ongoing child custody dispute and that there was a restraining order on file against him. Police said Rosales has no custodial rights to Canino.
“The mother said Leonardo showed up at her residence with two additional male suspects,” according to an LAPD news statement. “Leonardo forced his way into the residence and threatened the family while armed with a knife. He forcibly removed the child and fled in a gray Honda Accord with unknown license plate.”