Ayvani Hope Perez Found Safe; Police Continue to Search for Suspects
Ayvani Hope Perez, 14, was abducted from her home by robbers looking for money or jewelry. When they were told there was none, they took the young girl hostage and demanded $10,000 ransom.
Perez was found hours later in a nearby community and eventually reunited with her parents.
"She's in good health, she's being evaluated as we speak," Police Chief Gregory Porter said at a news conference. "This is a good day for the Perez family, but more importantly for Ayvani. She is safe."
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It was a happy ending to a growing trend of missing teenagers. Wildrego Jackson, 29, faces a federal charge of conspiracy to kidnap and Juan Alberto Contreras-Rodriguez was arrested on immigration-related charges. Police have not given a motive for the kidnapping but noted that Perez's mother, Maria Corral and Rodriguez were arrested together during a drug bust in 2012.
Jackson and Rodriguez do not match the descriptions of the home invaders provided to them by witnesses and police are still searching for those two men. The FBI is also assisting with the investigation but has not released many details about the ongoing search and what they are hoping to find. They also have not released what led them to arrest Jackson and Rodriguez in connection with the kidnapping.
According to authorities, two armed men dressed in black entered the home where Perez lived early Tuesday morning. They shot the family dog and demanded all their valuables and money. Upset when they were told there were no valuables or money, the men took the 14-year-old. Those suspects remain at large, with the FBI and local police continuing the search; police do not believe there is a connection between the family and these particular suspects.
"The two original individuals in those sketches are still at large and we're still actively searching for those guys," Sgt. Kevin Hughes, spokesman for the Clayton police, said Wednesday night.
