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CNN Live Today

Woman Arrested as L.A. Girl Found

Aired August 14, 2002 - 11:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Jessica Cortez, she is the 4-year-old girl who disappeared from a park in Los Angeles. She is now back with her parents this morning, and a woman has been arrested and charged with her kidnapping.
Our Rusty Dornin joins us live. She is in Los Angeles with the details.

Rusty -- good morning.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn. it's a very peaceful scene here at Echo Park Lake. There are more ducks and geese than people. That was not the case over the last few days, where some 300 police and hundreds of neighbors came here, searching for little Jessica Cortez. Now, she was reunited with her parents joyfully last night.

Now, from what we understand, a woman brought her to a medical clinic in Los Angeles after the little girl complained of a sore throat. The workers recognized little Jessica, even though her hair apparently had been chopped off by the kidnapper. They apparently lured the woman from the room, and then asked little Jessica what her name was. And she said, "My name is Jessica. That is not my mommy."

At that point, the workers called police, who responded quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN POMEROY, INTERIM CHIEF, LAPD: The woman who took little Jessica to the clinic yesterday has been arrested and booked for the kidnapping. Her name is Patricia Cornejo, aged 34.

Our detectives developed information through conversation with her and the service of two search warrants, including her conversation and evidence. We believe she is the sole suspect, and our detectives will be going to the district attorney today or tomorrow to seek a filing against this individual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Now, no motive so far in this kidnapping. Details are just coming out about the suspect. We do know that she is the mother of four, two older children and two younger children, a10-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, but the motive very unclear. Very unclear of what happened over the two days when the young girl was kidnapped.

Apparently she does have some kind of police record, but they are not saying exactly what that is, other than that it was some minor offenses.

Also they are still looking for a man, who initially they thought was suspect, a man that witnesses say they saw in the park with Jessica. They want to talk to him. They, of course, want to see if perhaps he saw anything. They don't believe that he's really connected with this kidnapping at this point, but they do want to talk to him.

A very happy ending here at the park. As I said, hundreds of people have come by, and folks are coming by this morning, and people are just very happy that this little girl was returned to her parents unharmed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes, happy, and yet so odd. In the last hour -- and, Rusty, I don't think you had a chance to listen to this, but we talked with a representative from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And she said that often when women take a child like this, it's because they want a child. They're desperate to have one of their own. But as you report, this woman already has four children of her own.

DORNIN: That's what it is. Yes, usually they have lost one or perhaps the children have grown up, and that's why it does -- it's very intriguing that she actually had a daughter the same age as this little girl. And of course, the two younger children have been put in protective custody since she has been arrested.

KAGAN: Interesting. And as you pointed out, she's relatively unharmed. The biggest sign of this is that she had her hair cut during the couple of days that she was separated from her parents. But as you reported, they are back together.

Rusty Dornin in Echo Park in Los Angeles, thank you.

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