Kidnapped Watsonville Toddler Reunited with Dad after 11 Months

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office and Houston Police Department helped reunite a Watsonville man with his son on Friday after almost a year of separation.

In early May of 2012, Cesar Zepeda went to pick up his then 1-½-year-old son from his estranged wife's house in San Jose, but could not find them, DA Inspector Raul Castellanos told Watsonville Patch.

The DA's office was able to track the woman, Maria Cortez, to Houston, Texas, where she had fled with the toddler, but could not find her exact location until the Houston Police Department arrested her on April 11.

The boy, now 2-½-years-old, was temporarily placed in the care of Child Protective Services in Texas. Castellanos said Cortez should be extradited back to California soon where she will face charges. 

On April 12, Castellanos flew to Houston, picked up the child and returned to California, where he reunited the boy with Zepeda. See photos of the reunion above.

While Castellanos is the local who got to put the family back together, he credited the police in Texas for the happy ending.

"We thought Cortez was in the Houston area because she had family there," Castellanos said. "But Houston did most of the legwork."