 SAN JOSE, Calif. - A
9-year-old girl kidnapped from her California home Friday has been found
at a convenience store less than 30 miles away from her house and is giving
police useful information on her abductor.
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- Jennette Tamayo walked into the East Palo Alto (search) store Sunday
night scared but unhurt, San Jose police said, adding that it was unclear
how she got there.
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- "We're not sure if she was able to escape or if
she was dropped off at this location," San Jose Police Chief
William Lansdowne (search) said at a news conference Monday morning.
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- Jennette was taken from her home Friday afternoon by
a man who staked out her house and waited for her to arrive home from school.
Before he left with her, Jennette's mother and teenage brother encountered
the man, who beat them before he sped away.
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- Much of the ordeal was caught by a neighbor's video surveillance
camera. Released before Jennette's discovery Sunday, the tape contains
several brutal images and sounds.
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- Reunited with relatives, Jennette was in good spirits,
and was providing investigators with valuable information about her ordeal,
Lansdowne said. She was healthy and had not suffered major physical injuries,
he said.
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- Jennette walked into the Eastside Market at about 10:30
p.m. Sunday, said Isa Yasin, the owner of the shop. Yasin said he did not
see anyone drop off the girl.
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- "She was crying and scared," said Yasin, who
called police after realizing who she was.
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- No arrests have been made. Police have not identified
the suspect, but said they expect to apprehend him quickly.
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- Deputy Chief Rob Davis said investigators are focusing
on one suspect, who police believe was unknown to the family. Davis refused
to discuss further details about the man, except to say that neither Jennette's
father nor stepfather were suspects.
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- Investigators believe Jennette remained in the San Francisco
Bay area during her abduction, although police declined to provide further
details.
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- The videotape showed a man pulling up in front of Tamayo's
home Friday afternoon and going inside. Police aren't sure how he was able
to enter, but they believe he may have used a broken rear window.
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- After approximately 25 minutes inside, the suspect was
seen returning to wait in the car. At one point another car drives past,
then backs up and lingers next to the suspect's car. Police said they were
looking for the driver of that car.
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- At approximately 4:20 p.m., Jennette was seen crossing
the street and entering the house alone. The man got out of the car about
90 seconds later and followed her into the house.
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- After another 25 minutes inside, the suspect came back
outside, backed his car into the garage and closed the door.
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- Around this time, Jennette's mother, aunt and 15-year-old
brother drove up. The aunt got out and drove away in a separate car, while
the boy tried to open the garage door. He managed to pry the bottom part
of the door open and crawled underneath, at which point, police say, he
was attacked.
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- While the attack isn't visible on the surveillance tape,
sounds of the altercation can be heard and Rosalie Tamayo was seen running
inside the house to help her son. Police said the suspect confronted her
between the kitchen and garage, and beat her with pans and a ladder.
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- By now the boy had broken free, and ran outside for help.
His mother came out moments later, beaten and bloodied but screaming for
help as well. The suspect then pulled out of the driveway with Jennette
inside in his car and sped across the lawn, crushing rose bushes along
the way.
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- Rosalie Tamayo and her son were treated at a hospital
and released.
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- San Jose Police spokesman Steve Dixon said that while
the images on the black-and-white tape were not always clear, the tape
showed the attack was not a random burglary. Officials were trying to enhance
the tape.
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- "The tape makes it very clear the he was targeting
this house," Dixon said. "He wasn't roaming the neighborhood
looking for houses to break into. He was there for quite some time, just
waiting for this little girl to come home."
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- Residents poured into the streets Sunday night to celebrate.
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- "It was just like a Hollywood script," said
neighbor Karen Kamfolt, whose surveillance cameras recorded the kidnapping.
"People came from all directions out of their houses."
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- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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