by The Associated Press/Tampa Tribune
Published: Tue, March 24, 2009 - 9:47 am CST
Last Updated: Tue, March 24, 2009 - 1:43 pm CST
2:42 p.m.PLANT CITY, Fla. (AP) - Florida police say they have found a
2-month old girl unharmed after the infant was taken from a
Tampa-area health clinic.
Authorities were on Tuesday interviewing a woman who brought the
child, Sandra Cruz-Francisco, to the sheriff's office in Manatee
County, which is south of Tampa.
The child's mother told The Tampa Tribune that she was at a
health department clinic Monday when a woman who said she was an
immigration official approached her. The woman told the child's
mother that she could help the family avoid deportation if the
mother handed over the infant.
Police have said they do not believe the two women knew each
other.
The baby was at the clinic for a checkup.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
1:53 p.m.
PLANT CITY - A woman claiming to be an immigration official convinced the mother of a 2-month-old girl that handing the child over would protect the family from being deported, the mother said today.
Rosa Sirilo-Francisco, 30, of Plant City, said she gave her baby to an immigration official named Janet and only later decided Janet wasn't who she claimed to be.
Authorities have since issued an Amber Alert for the baby, Sandra Cruz-Francisco.
Police say they would like to speak with 43-year-old Amaila Tabata Pereira, who also goes by the names Alalia Rivera, Amalia Segui and Almalia Maldonao.Sandra is Hispanic, 22 inches tall and 10 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing pink pants, a pink shirt and pink socks in the 300 block of North Michigan Avenue in Plant City.
Plant City police spokesman Cpt. Darrell Wilson said police don't know yet whether the child is in danger.
"But we're using all the available resources we have to make sure we recover the baby as quickly as possible," he said during a news conference this morning.
Sirilo-Francisco said that about 3 p.m. Monday she took her daughter to the Plant City Health Department office at 302 N. Michigan Ave. for a routine checkup.
She said that's when she was approached by Janet, a woman she didn't know. Janet claimed to be an immigration official and said immigration officers were waiting for Sirilo-Francisco and her husband at their home to deport them to Mexico. Janet claimed she wanted to help the couple, but she had to take the baby with her, Sirilo-Francisco said.
Janet and Sirilo-Francisco left in Janet's vehicle, and they rode to a nearby Kash 'n Karry, where they discussed how Janet would help the couple avoid deportation. Sirilo-Francisco, who said she was scared, believed Janet. During the conversation, Sirilo-Francisco also noticed there was a child's car seat in Janet's vehicle.
The two then rode to the farm where the child's father works as a laborer.
Janet told him what she had told Sirilo-Francisco.
Sirilo-Francisco and Janet then went back to the health department, where Sirilo-Francisco had left her own car. She handed over the child there, and Janet said she would give the girl back at 8 a.m. Thursday. Janet told them she was taking the child to Miami.
When Sirilo-Francisco came home and told a relative in Georgia what had happened, the relative told her that what happened isn't how United States government works.
Afraid that her baby had been abducted, Sirilo-Francisco told police what happened. Police told her Janet didn't work with the immigration department, Sirilo-Francisco said.
Sirilo-Francisco is still worried about getting deported, but she said she is more concerned about getting their baby back.
According to police, Janet may be Hispanic and is about 30 years old, thin and about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. She has shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeve black shirt and white tennis shoes.
Janet and the child may be traveling in a small, four-door, blue Chrysler, possibly heading toward Miami.
Deputies initially faced a language barrier with the child's mother, but that has since been resolved, he said.
Detectives are at the health center today, trying to gather details and recover video if possible.
"We can't confirm if Janet was a client of the health department, but we can confirm Janet was in the area of the health department yesterday," Wilson said today.
Health department spokesman Steve Huard said the department is concerned for the child's safety and that it is cooperating with police.
"We want to see a successful end," he said.
A law enforcement officer is standing outside Sirilo-Francisco's home this afternoon.
Police are asking anyone who may have encountered Janet to come forward.
Anyone with information can call the Plant City Police Department at (813) 757-9200 or dial 911.
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