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CNN Live At Daybreak

Texas Baby Reunited with Parents

Aired August 15, 2002 - 06:02   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A former prison guard is on the other side of the bars this morning, charged with kidnapping a 1- month-old baby girl. The baby was returned to her family after being kidnapped from a parking lot some 24 hours earlier.
CNN's Eric Philips reports on the tearful reunion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A tearful reunion, as Salvador and Margarita Chavez are reunited with their 1-month-old daughter, Nancy Crystal, after more than 24 gut-wrenching hours.

MARGARITA CHAVEZ, MOTHER: I trusted the Lord. I was very sure that I was going to get my baby back.

PHILIPS: Police say Tuesday afternoon, 24-year-old Paula Lynn Roach snatched Nancy from the Chavez's minivan parked at the Abilene Wal-Mart. They say parking lot surveillance videos shows Roach circling the lot five to seven times. When the mother stepped feet away to return a shopping cart, police say that's when Roach made her move.

CHAVEZ: And then I yelled, "That's my baby! Don't take my baby!" But she ran.

PHILIPS: This portion of the videotape shows the mother running after the suspect's car and being dragged a short distance. A 13- year-old passerby also tried to stop the car.

ROBERTO GANN, TRIED TO STOP SUSPECT: I ran the car, and I tried to open the door. I couldn't open the door, so I swung at the window.

PHILIPS: Wednesday afternoon, authorities stopped a different vehicle in Quanah, Texas, about 130 miles north of Abilene. The suspect and the baby were inside. The infant was unharmed.

Authorities received tips after using the "Amber Alert" missing child system to send the car description and other relevant information over TV, radio and highway signs statewide.

CHIEF MELVIN MARTIN, ABILENE, TEXAS POLICE: There were some citizens who called in who were apparently aware of the Abilene situation, and that's what prompted the deputy sheriff to, in turn, stop the car.

PHILIPS (on camera): In a written confession, the suspect, Paula Roach, told authorities that she was trying to fill a void in her life. She is charged with aggravated kidnapping, and she is being held on $500,000 bond. If she's convicted, she could spend 99 years behind bars.

At police headquarters in Abilene, Texas, Eric Philips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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