Missing Florida girl re-unites with mother 14 years later

Fourteen years after she was allegedly abducted by her father, a Florida girl has been reunited with her mother at the US-Mexico border, police say.

The 2007 disappearance of six-year-old Jacqueline Hernandez was a cold case until this month, when she reportedly contacted her mother on Facebook.

Ms Hernandez, now 19, told Angelica Vences-Salgado that she was in Mexico. They reunited on Monday in Texas.

Investigators who intercepted the pair have verified Ms Hernandez’s identity.

The reunification effort drew on the resources of multiple law enforcement agencies at the state and federal levels.

Ms Hernandez – a native of Clermont, Florida – was allegedly kidnapped from her home by her father Pablo Hernandez on 22 December 2007.

A felony warrant was issued at the time, as authorities expected that the pair may travel to Mexico. The current whereabouts of Mr Hernandez remain unclear.

On 2 September, Ms Vences-Salgado reached out to Clermont police, saying she had been contacted online by a woman claiming to be her daughter.

Police in Florida and Texas, as well as investigators from the Department of Homeland Security, created a plan to “intercept” the young woman during her meeting with Ms Vences-Salgado to verify her identity.

In their Facebook exchange, Ms Hernandez and Ms Vences-Salgado agreed to meet at a point of entry to the US in Laredo, Texas.

Documentation soon proved that she was Ms Vences-Salgado’s child.

In a statement on Monday, Clermont police chief Charles Broad said the coordinated effort created “a force multiplier” that helped reunite the pair after 14 years.

The Clermont Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the BBC.

Source: BBC