An 8-Year-Old Girl Was Kidnapped From a Wash.Mall in 2018.She Was Just Found Alive in Mexico Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez, then 4 years old, was kidnapped on October 25, 2018, from a Vancouver, Wash., shopping mall By Tristan Balagtas Tristan Balagtas Digital News Writer, PEOPLE
People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 9, 2023 12:59 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez.Photo: FBI A girl who was abducted from a Washington mall and taken to Mexico more than four years ago has been found alive, authorities announced.
According to the FBI, Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez, then 4 years old, was kidnapped on October 25, 2018, from a Vancouver, Wash., shopping mall.
Authorities determined she was abducted by her non-custodial, biological mother, during a court-supervised visit, a news release reads.
KPTV-TV identified Aranza’s mother as Esmeralda Lopez-Lopez.
In 2019, Lopez-Lopez was arrested in Puebla, Mexico, and extradited back to Washington, the outlet reports.It was unclear where Aranza was at the time of her mother’s arrest.
According to the station, in 2021, Lopez pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping, second-degree robbery and first-degree custodial interference in connection to her daughter’s disappearance.
She is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence.
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On Wednesday, the FBI confirmed Mexican authorities safely recovered Aranza, now 8, in Michoacán, Mexico, in February.
She was escorted to an undisclosed location in the U.S.
“For more than four years, the FBI and our partners did not give up on Aranza,” Richard A.
Collodi, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office, said in a statement.
“Our concern now will be supporting Aranza as she begins her reintegration into the U.S.”
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