Vancouver Kidnapping: One Arrest, Mother, Child, Still Missing

VANCOUVER, WA – Vancouver Police say that a mother who kidnapped her daughter last week while n a supervised visit has been spotted driving in California. Officials say that an Amber Alert has been issued.

According to police, Esmeralda Lopez was on a supervised visit to the Vancouver Mall with her 4-year-old daughter. She had lost custody of her daughter, Aranza, who had been placed into foster care.

Over the weekend, Lopez was spotted in California with her daughter and a teenage girl who had been with her at the mall. They were traveling in a Red Chevy Cobalt with Washington license plate BLK1552.

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Vancouver officials are with working with their counterparts in California including the Highway Patrol to find the three. While they believe they are headed to Mexico, they are asking people to keep an eye out for them.

Police say that the Chevy belongs to 23-year-old Jose Orellana-Gomez.

He told police that he had arrived at Lopez's apartment last week to help her by giving her a ride to Centralia.

When he got there, he was approached by three men who tied him to a chair, demanded his credit card pin, stole the card, and told him that they were taking his Chevy.

After they fled, he was able to free himself and call police,

One of those men has now been arrested, police say.

Erick Garcia-Valdovinos is charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of robbery related to these incidents.

Photos via Vancouver Police.