Briant Rodriguez (AP)
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – A child matching the description of a 3-year-old boy snatched from his home by two armed men may have been found alive in Mexico, authorities said Saturday.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's detectives and FBI agents received a call from officials in the border town of Mexicali on Friday that they found a boy that could be Briant Rodriguez, department spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said.
That night, investigators and the boy's mother, Maria Rosalina Millan, flew to the neighboring city of Calexico and were waiting to see the child and confirm his identity, Beavers said.
"It seems the process to make an identification in a case like this is quite different in Mexico than the U.S.," Beavers said. "We're trying to be very patient and we're very hopeful. Very hopeful."
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The boy was abducted May 3 by two men who burst into his home, tied up his mother and siblings then stole money and other property.
No motive had been established. The kidnappers have not demanded a ransom and the initial investigation pointed to the kidnappers being strangers to the family.
Federal and local investigators were looking at several theories, including that the Spanish-speaking kidnappers were from Mexico and may have had ties to organized crime there.
The family lives in a modest, single-story home in a lower-income area abutting the city of San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
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