Missing 2-year-old girl found in Palm Springs; father arrested
A 2-year-old girl who vanished during a supervised visit with her father Christmas Eve at the Grove has been found unharmed in Palm Springs, Los Angeles police officials said.
Lucia Perry and her father, Jack, were found at an apartment and taken into custody by police in Palm Springs about 9:30 p.m. Monday after a witness recognized the father from a community alert flier, said LAPD Officer Ricardo Hernandez.
Lucia was reunited with her mother, and her father was arrested on suspicion of child abduction, Hernandez said.
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Jack Perry had used a fake name to rent the apartment he and his daughter were found in Sunday, Hernandez said.
“A witness who had seen the community alert flier and recognized the suspect and his 2-year-old called and said ‘I’m sure that’s them and here’s where they are,’” Hernandez said.
Perry and his daughter were outside the Barnes & Noble store at the Grove around 5 p.m. Thursday when the person monitoring their visit lost sight of them, according to an LAPD news release.
The child and her father were last seen Sunday at a hotel in Beverly Hills, according to Lt. Jim Gavin, who oversees detectives at the department’s Van Nuys station.
Officers were dispatched to the area, but the father and child disappeared before police arrived, according to Gavin.
Police had considered Perry, a 31-year-old British national, a flight risk, Gavin said.
Perry has a “minor criminal history” and last lived in Santa Monica; his family is wealthy and has access to a private aircraft, Gavin said.
Gavin said Lucia’s parents are going through a divorce, and the girl usually lives with her mother.
It was not immediately clear who was monitoring Jack Perry’s visit with his daughter on Christmas Eve, Gavin said.
Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.
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