AUSTIN, Texas: A Texas girl kidnapped 12 years ago at the age of four and taken to Mexico by her mother has been found there, law enforcement officials said on yesterday.
Sabrina Allen was taken from Austin, Texas, in April 2002 by Dara Llorens, who was estranged from Allen’s father, according to the Austin Police Department.
Llorens and the child assumed new identities and moved frequently to evade capture, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which assisted in the hunt for the girl. The pair was found Tuesday in Mexico and the 17-year-old was reunited with her father yesterday, authorities said.
“I am overjoyed that Sabrina has been found alive and is safe,” Greg Allen, Sabrina’s father, said in a statement. “Our entire family would like to thank the investigators that made this happen. They never gave up. We look forward to being reunited very soon.”
According to charging documents, Llorens, now 44, took the child for a scheduled weekend visit on April 19, 2002, as part of a court-ordered custody arrangement. She failed to return the child to the father, who had primary custody, at the end of the weekend. According to an account of the girl’s recovery provided by Klein Investigations & Consulting, agents with the Mexican Federal Police, the US Department of Justice and the US Marshals Service took custody of Llorens near Mexico City, on Tuesday morning after help from a confidential informant.
Llorens was wanted on warrants that include interference with child custody and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, the Klein group said.
REUTERS
