Police in Washington state on Wednesday said a pregnant woman was found in Mexico over a week after she was taken from her Seattle-area home during an armed kidnapping, and authorities captured a suspect in Texas.
Auburn, Washington, police said Jackelin Perez was located by Mexican authorities 10 days after her Oct. 13 disappearance. Auburn police didn’t specify where in the country she was found.
Police initially said they suspected Ms. Perez, who is 21 and six weeks pregnant, was taken from her home “under duress.”
Once she was found south of the border, the victim confirmed to police that she was kidnapped at gunpoint.
“We believe the kidnapping was related to illegal activity in which she was not involved,” Auburn police said in a news release. “The kidnappers brought her to Mexico and subsequently released her. We are currently investigating the reasons for her release in Mexico.”
Mexican officials are working to send Ms. Perez to Guatemala, from where she and her husband immigrated in the past year before they moved to the Seattle suburb of Auburn.
Police said the FBI and other agencies helped arrest an unnamed 24-year-old suspect Saturday in Texas in connection to Ms. Perez’s disappearance.
Authorities didn’t say what charges the suspect is facing or elaborate on where in Texas the suspect was taken into custody.
“We also believe there are more individuals involved and are actively trying to locate them,” police said in a statement.
Auburn police spokesman Kolby Crossley said Ms. Perez’s husband arrived at the couple’s home 20 minutes after his wife was kidnapped, but didn’t report her missing to the police until the following morning.
“As of right now we haven’t ruled anything out,” Mr. Crossley told Seattle media when asked whether Perez’s husband was a suspect in the investigation. “We’re looking into everything in this case.”
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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