Video of Cudahy Kidnapper Who Kidnapped Two Year Old Released

Eds: Prendergast can be reached at [email protected]. The video
released by police can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/1GUVRnc. The child's name,
Stacy Lopez, is withheld from the body of this story because of the victim's
age and the nature of the crime.
GARDENA (CNS) - Calls were pouring in to police today as investigators
sought to identify a predator who kidnapped a 2-year-old girl in Gardena and
left her in Cudahy.
   Police have released security video of a white car linked to the
suspect. It shows a ``clean'' white four-door car, possibly a 2008-2012 Nissan
Altima with tinted windows, being driven through an area neighborhood.
   The child was kidnapped about 4:55 p.m. Thursday near 149th Street and
Western Avenue, where she had wandered away from her mother at a self-serve car
wash, Gardena police Chief Ed Medrano said.
   The toddler's mother heard her daughter call to her and then she was
gone, Medrano said.
   The girl was dropped off about 7:15 p.m. near Santa Ana Street and
Atlantic Avenue in Cudahy and was taken to a hospital to be examined, said
Gardena police Lt. Steve Prendergast.
   She was treated at the hospital for unspecified injuries she suffered
during the abduction, and reunited with her family. Her condition was not
disclosed.
   ``We are receiving a lot of calls and we appreciate the public's
involvement in trying to find the kidnapper,'' Prendergast told City News
Service today.
   Anyone with security video possibly related to the case was urged to
call police.
   ``This man is a child predator,'' Prendergast said. ``He is out there,
and we need the public's help to find him.''
   Prendergast said detectives have determined that the suspect is not
known to the family.
   ``This is a `stranger' abduction -- this is not a `family' abduction,''
Prendergast said. ``The information that we have is that the victim does not
know the suspect.''
   A ``grainy'' security video from the area near the crime scene showed
the car, Prendergast said, and police were working to enhance the video to
determine the license plate number. Police believe the plate may have been
subsequently removed.
   Anyone within information about the case was urged to call 911 or
Gardena police at (310) 323-7911.