PIERSON, Fla. – The mother of a 1-year-old girl found in a wooded area in Florida's Volusia County and the man who reported her missing have been arrested in the child's disappearance.
A sheriff's office spokesman says 23-year-old Carlos Rivera and 30-year-old Leah Wiley were arrested Saturday.
Deputies, a helicopter and bloodhounds had searched for Wiley's daughter Lupita Gonzalez for hours. A missing child alert was also issued.
Deputies said Rivera and Wiley went to a party with the child Thursday night.
According to a release, Rivera told police he paid Wiley to have sex with him, but became upset when they were interrupted.
Rivera then left the party with Wiley's daughter at 7 a.m. Friday.
Investigators said Rivera abandoned the girl in a field before catching a ride back to Putnam County.
Rivera is charged with kidnapping and child abuse. He also has three open warrants for failure to appear in court on charges of grand theft, DUI and driving without a valid license.
Wiley is charged with child neglect for failing to report her daughter missing. She told police that she suspected that Rivera took her daughter, but didn't want to report her as missing because then the child's father would find out she had sex with Rivera.
Click here to read more from MyFoxOrlando.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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