Oct 17, 2008 5:42 pm US/Pacific
Woman, 2 Girls Found Safe After Alleged Kidnapping
WESTMINSTER
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Jose Solano Ortiz allegedly kidnapped his wife, Jacqueline Martinez, and the couple's two daughters. Martinez and her daughters were found at the house of her husband's parents but Ortiz remained at large.
CBS
A 24-year-old woman who was allegedly beaten and kidnapped by her husband was found safe Friday at his parents' home in Westminster, along with their two daughters, but the husband remained at large, police said.
Jacqueline Prado Martinez was allegedly attacked by her husband, Jose Solano Ortiz, 26, around 3 p.m. Thursday in the 6800 block of Homer Street, near Dumont Lane, according to the Westminster Police Department.
Witnesses said the bleeding and screaming woman was dragged by Ortiz to their pickup truck, where their daughters -- Celeste, 7, and Cassandra, 6 -- were inside.
"All of a sudden I just see him and he was pulling her hair and he had her by the neck and she was crying," a witness said. "They just fight every night, and the cops used to come like every other day in the summer. It would just be sad because you could just hear everybody screaming and crying."
An Amber Alert was activated on freeway signs throughout Orange County until 12:30 a.m., when police located the pickup about three-quarters of a mile from where the family was taken, and near the home of Ortiz's parents, said Westminster police Lt. Bill Lewis.
Police went to the parents' home to interview them, which is where they
found the wife and daughters.
"The kids and the mom are safe," Rachel Archambault of the Westminster Police Department said. "We don't know if he dropped them off there (or) if they escaped and went there. We're not really sure how they ended up there right now."
It was unknown why no one told police they were there.
Authorities described the family as "semi-cooperative," and said Ortiz was still at large.
Ortiz, who has a history of violence, is Latino, 5 feet 8 inches and 160 pounds with spiky black hair. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and khaki shorts.
Anyone with information about Ortiz's whereabouts was asked to call Westminster police at (714) 898-3315, ext. 421. Tips can be submitted anonymously.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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