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Grandfather May Be Charged In Toddler's Near-Abduction
By: Greg Moore | Source: KOCO.com
October 23, 2007 9:58AM EST
One man is in custody, and FBI agents are looking for three more people in connection with the disappearance of a metro toddler at a Concho casino on Wednesday, police said.
Alyssa Christina Lopez, 3, was taken at about 3:15 a.m. from the parking lot at the Lucky Star Casino, where she was sleeping in the back seat of a truck, authorities said.
Authorities said the girl's grandfather left the child in the truck at about 2 a.m., before returning an hour and 45 minutes later and discovering the truck gone.
However, an Amber Alert was not issued until 6:10 a.m. At 6:45 a.m., authorities said, the girl was found sleeping in the back of a truck at Interstate 40 and Peebly Road.
Alyssa was not injured, authorities said.
Surveillance video showed a person in a dark jacket get into the truck and drive away from the El Reno casino. Police said they detained a man who matched the description of that individual and took him to the Oklahoma City Police Department, where Canadian County authorities will talk with him.
"At this point we have determined an individual that we believe was out there and did break into the vehicle and leave. We do have a person that matches that description that has been detained. At this time we are not 100 percent certain it's the same person," said FBI spokesman Gary Johnson.
FBI agents said the person detained went to the casino with two women and another man at about 2 a.m. Agents said they would like to talk with those people.
"We are not necessarily certain at this time how involved they are. We would certainly like to talk to them to determine that," Johnson said.
Agents are looking for a pickup truck in which the four people came to the casino. It is a white Chevrolet truck with a short bed and flare sides.
The FBI said it will give its report to Canadian County prosecutors but will let them decide if the girl's grandfather will face any charges for leaving her in the car while he went inside the casino.
Anybody with information should call the FBI hot line at 405-290-7770.