Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
10-Year-Old Northridge Girl Abducted From Home, Held Captive Nearly 12 Hours
Photo by tonyz20 via Shutterstock
The Los Angeles Polie Department are searching for two men suspected of abducting a 10-year-old Northridge girl from her own home. The girl, reported missing by her mother early Wednesday morning, was found nearly 12 hours later, after she had been dropped off at a strip mall about six miles from her house.
The girl's mother said she had checked on her daughter at about 1 a.m. and she was asleep in her bedroom. She said she heard a commotion at about 3:40 a.m. and went to check out her daughter's bedroom, only the girl was gone. A gate at the yard of the property was also left open.
At around 3 p.m. someone spotted the red-headed 10-year-old outside a Starbucks strip mall at Canoga Avenue and Oxnard Street, and notified authorities. The child, barefoot, appeared to be okay except for a few facial bruisings and lacerations, but was taken to an area hospital for evaluation.
The girl told police she was held in an abandoned home near her house and later a storage facility. She was then left off at a Kaiser hospital, reports City News Service.
The child was only able to provide scant details about her alleged abductors. She said she did not know either of them, but one was an 18-year-old man, she said.
Capt. William Hayes of the LAPD's Robbery- Homicide Division said it was not known why the girl was targeted, and that investigators did not think she had any previous contact with the abductors. "If these individuals are brazen enough to do that, I'm putting all the resources I have to make sure they don't do it again," said Hayes during a press conference Wednesday night, adding that the LAPD had been looking for two vehicles and one—a black pickup truck—was already found.
The girl is described as being "in shock" right now, but walking and talking. Her current location is undisclosed.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
