A 3-month-old baby who was abducted from his grandmother’s apartment as she was unloading groceries has been found alive, police in San Jose, California, revealed Tuesday.
Authorities said they’ve also arrested three suspects, including a woman who had been out shopping with the grandma just before Brandon Cuellar’s kidnapping. The infant has been taken to a local hospital for evaluation but was said to be in good condition.
“Three-month-old Brandon Cuellar was safely located,” said San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata at a press conference Tuesday. “This incident is a parent’s worst nightmare. We are fortunate that this resulted in a positive outcome.”
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Police said Cuellar would be reunited with his mother once he was cleared by the hospital, but they did not give a timetable as to when that would be.
The suspects’ names and charges were not released, but police confirmed they had some relation to the family.
Earlier in the day, authorities said they were questioning a female “person of interest,” who they later confirmed as one of the three suspects arrested. They said they believe there is a connection to the family.
“This was a person who was with the grandmother yesterday when they went shopping, she was present at the apartment complex when this happened,” San Jose Police spokesman Sgt. Christian Camarillo said at a press conference. “There have been some inconsistencies with what she has told us. Obviously, drawing our attention to what she knows about this.”
Police characterized the kidnapping as “premeditated.”
“We know that there’s some connection to the family, but we don't know exactly what that connection is,” SJPD Assistant Chief Paul Joseph said. “That’s something that will be determined during the course of the investigation.”
Cuellar was snatched from his grandmother’s home Monday afternoon as she unloaded groceries from her car, with disturbing surveillance footage showing a man walking down the street holding his carrier.
Baby Brandon Cuellar and video footage of a suspect carrying an infant’s car seat.
San Jose PoliceThe baby’s mother, who was at work at the time of the abduction, and grandmother did not recognize the man from security footage. Brandon’s father is currently in jail.
“[The grandmother] came to this apartment, she took the baby in the apartment, went downstairs to unload some groceries,” San Jose Police Sgt. Christian Camarillo said at a press conference on Monday.
“In that short amount of time, someone entered the apartment and left with the baby.”
