Authorities find kidnapped child in Mercedes

>> Anyone who has information that could help authorities piece together what happened to Lesley during the time from her abduction up to her recovery is urged to contact the Hidalgo Police Department at (956) 843-6460 or (956) 843-8426.

>> Check back here at www.themonitor.com for updates from the news conference scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

HIDALGO — Authorities have recovered a 4-year-old girl who was abducted near her home Tuesday night.

Hidalgo police Chief Vernon Rosser confirmed Lesley Estefania Perez was found at a rural area in Mercedes late Wednesday night.

Police arrested a male suspect believed to have kidnapped the girl, though authorities were unable to identify the man as of press time.

"We're mentally fatigued," Rosser said. "But we're glad we finally found her."

Law enforcement officials plan to convene a news conference at 8:30 a.m. today to answer questions surrounding the child's abduction.

Family members said they were thankful for the community's assistance in locating the little girl.

Lesley's 12-year-old sister, Brianda, had helped detectives create a composite sketch of the suspect, who was found minutes after the drawing was displayed by a local TV news station.

"It was such a huge joy when they found her," the girl's aunt Marisol Rivera said in Spanish. "I just want to see her and hold her."

Lesley was rushed to an area hospital for a routine check, Rosser said. There was no immediate indication the child had been injured by her captor.

The statewide Amber Alert that had gone out early Wednesday morning was cancelled about 11:35 p.m.

THE ABDUCTION

The white pickup truck circled through the neighborhood five times before it screeched to a halt.

An unknown man stepped into the dusty, windswept lot and went after Lesley, who was playing in the field across from her family's modest home.

Older sister Brianda, 12, tried to hold back her little sister from the man, the girls' relatives said. But with one swift blow to Brianda's head, the kidnapper snatched little Lesley from her grip.

The abduction occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday along Rivera Drive in the Sanchez Ranch colonia just south of Military Highway in Hidalgo. (Click here to see video from the scene of the abduction)

Local, state and federal law enforcement launched a statewide manhunt before dawn Wednesday to find Lesley's kidnapper - a man whose description changed several times as the day wore on.

THE VICTIM

Lesley's relatives described her as star student in Hidalgo County Head Start.

She is the second youngest among the four children who make up Lazaro and San Juana Perez's household, said neighbor Maria Najar, 34.

Losing Lesley for a day devastated San Juana, her mother.

"My sister is tranquil sometimes, but then she starts crying and crying," Rivera said early Wednesday afternoon during the anxious hours before the little girl's recovery.

THE ALERT

Hidalgo police investigators responded to the scene of the kidnapping about 9:05 p.m. Tuesday.

A preliminary investigation failed to yield a suspect, and the department followed up by requesting that the Texas Department of Public Safety activate a statewide Amber Alert at 3:29 a.m. Wednesday, said Tela Mange, a spokeswoman for the state agency. Local agencies must complete preliminary investigations to show the need for a statewide Amber Alert.

"They have to be able to show to us that there's not an alternate reason for the child to be missing and that there's enough information available," Mange said.

The Amber Alert triggered the FBI and Texas Rangers to help local authorities search for Lesley. Preliminary reports indicated the girl disappeared with the kidnapper in a white Ford F-150 pickup truck built in the early 1990s.

The suspect who drove the truck was described as a Hispanic man in his 30s.

However, that description changed by early Wednesday afternoon, when investigators published an updated Amber Alert in which they announced they were looking for 40-year-old Hidalgo resident Raul Ornelas.

FBI agents questioned Ornelas, but he was released later in the afternoon after it was clear he did not match the suspect description and did not know Lesley's whereabouts, said a law enforcement official who was not authorized to speak about the investigation.

"They talked to him and then cut him loose," the official said.

Ornelas remained a person of interest, "but it doesn't look like it will pan out," Hidalgo police Capt. Robert Vela said Wednesday afternoon.

Relatives identified Ornelas, a school bus driver, as a possible suspect after they recalled how he acted around Lesley, telling her that she was "so pretty, I'm going to take you," Rivera recalled.

But Ornelas' wife, Lety Ledesema, said her husband is innocent.

"I don't know why people think he did anything," she said. "It's been very embarrassing for us."

Speaking through his wife, who said he was "very mad," Ornelas declined to comment Wednesday evening.

THE INVESTIGATION

Cable television picked up the story as pundits speculated about Lesley's kidnapping with legal analyst Nancy Grace on her eponymous program on CNN's sister network HLN.

In a situation of a kidnapped child, authorities generally work around the clock for the first 48 hours after they learn of the crime, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño, who set up a mobile command center in Hidalgo and assigned several deputies to help investigate.

"The first 48 hours are most crucial," he said. "That's when your evidence is the hottest."

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Jared Taylor and Ana Ley cover law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach them at (956) 683-4439.

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