A Fort Collins mother suspected of kidnapping the daughter she lost custody of in February was found in Wyoming on Wednesday. The 2-year-old was recovered safely after she wandered into a Rock Springs, Wyo., Walmart alone, authorities said.
Local police later arrested the mother, Vanessa Gonzales, 28, and Antonio Solis Martinez, 52, at a home in Rock Springs.
Vanecia “Feather” Gonzales had been missing from her caretaker’s home in Fort Collins since Friday.
About 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, she walked into the store by herself.
As store employees helped the young girl, a man thought to be Martinez came in looking for her. She resisted at first but then “appeared to know which vehicle in the parking lot to go to without further assistance from the male subject,” Rock Springs police Sgt. Kenneth Lorimer said in an e-mail.
After looking at surveillance tape, Rock Springs police learned a child fitting the description of the one in the store had been reported missing in Larimer County.
They discovered the vehicle from the store at a local home, found Vanecia and arrested the adults.
Denver Post staff reports
