Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Jun. 3, 7:05 AM) -- A tipster helped police recover a 5-year-old girl who police say was abducted from her home by a roommate of the girl’s father and driven 450 miles to Utah.
Anabella Jade Clark, who vanished from her Riverside home Monday, was found later in the day when a passer-by saw her eating lunch at a Richfield, Utah, park with Charles William Mix, 48.
The passer-by, Leisa Hilton, 32, of Richfield, told KCAL-TV in Los Angeles that she had an intuition Anabella and Mix did not belong together.
“I hate to be judgmental but in my book he looked scary, he just looked like the wrong person to be with a little girl,” Hilton said. “It didn’t feel right. It was just a wrong feeling and I went totally with that.”
Mix did not resist arrest, Deputy Police Chief Andy Pytlak said.
“The child is in good condition,” he added. “I’m just pretty ecstatic that it turned out as well as it has.”
Police said they did not know why the girl was taken, but they were investigating Mix’s claim that he didn’t like the way the girl was being treated.
Mix was suspected of fleeing the state with Anabella in his boss’ stolen pickup truck. An Amber Alert was issued in California for the safe recovery of the girl.
Richfield Officer Trent Lloyd said Mix claimed Anabella was his daughter, but officers ran the license plate of the pickup truck and found that whoever was driving the vehicle was suspected in the disappearance of the girl.
Lloyd said Riverside authorities were traveling to Richfield and were expected Tuesday to begin the process of arresting Mix and bringing the girl home.