A 3-year-old boy kidnapped by gunmen during a home invasion robbery at his San Bernardino home was found safe in Mexico, and today he was returned to his mother, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Briant Rodriguez, who was taken May 3, was reunited with his mother at 4:15 p.m., said Cindy Beavers of the Sheriff's Department.
A Mexican police officer found the child yesterday wandering on a street in Mexicali and took him to a child services agency, which contacted Mexican
authorities when the child's parents could not be found, ABC7 reported.
Mexican authorities then contacted the FBI when they determined the boy matched the description of Briant. The boy's mother was taken to Calexico to
identify the boy, but some issues with paperwork and identification had to be resolved before the boy was returned to her, Beavers told the TV station.
The search continues for the kidnappers in Mexico.
Two gunmen entered the Rodriguez home on May 3, tied up the family, ransacked the residence and took cash, property and the 3-year-old, Beavers said at the time.
The boy's mother was getting ready to take Briant and his four siblings to a local park when the men broke in.
Family members told authorities the men threatened to take the boy to Mexico and kill him.
A motive for the kidnapping was unknown. The investigation into the circumstances of the kidnapping was still ``very active,'' said FBI spokeswoman
Laura Eimiller.
The kidnappers were described as thin, light-skinned Hispanic men. One is believed to be about 18 years old and about 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was
wearing blue jeans, a green T-shirt and a black baseball cap.
The other is believed to be about 24 years old and about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants and boots and a white
bandanna.
The FBI reported the men may have been driving an early 1990s dark green Ford Bronco with a spare tire mounted on the rear. Agents released surveillance video believed to be of the two men and the SUV.
