Abducted Child Returned Following High-Speed Chase Authorities Investigating Similar Abductions In Seattle Area

An Oregon toddler abducted here over the weekend was back in his father’s arms Monday after a high-speed, pre-dawn chase south of Seattle and the arrest of four men.

A fifth man was being sought, and similarities between Saturday’s abduction and others in the Seattle area were being investigated, authorities said.

The child, 13-month-old Seferino Moreno of Corvallis, Ore., was uninjured when the getaway vehicle spun out and was struck by two King County police cars early Monday on Washington 167 in Auburn, about 15 miles south of Seattle.

The boy and his father, Manuel Moreno, 26, returned to this southcentral Washington community Monday with one of the Pasco officers who traveled to the Puget Sound area late Sunday to assist King County police, Pasco Police Chief Denis Austin said.

Five men took the boy at knife point Saturday from a Pasco apartment where he and his father had been visiting Gabriel Moreno, 20, his father’s cousin. Also on the scene was the boy’s grandfather, Laureano Moreno, 58, of Corvallis. The three adults suffered superficial stab wounds, Pasco police Capt. Doug Chambers said.

“We’re still looking into why they picked this particular family,” Chambers said. Manuel Moreno is unemployed and Gabriel Moreno works at an area meat-packing plant, he said.

Three of those arrested were turned over to Franklin County authorities Monday afternoon, Chambers said.

One, a 16-year-old, was being held in the Benton-Franklin County Juvenile Justice System. His name was not released. The other two - Miguel Cortes-Aguilar, 19, and Juan Aguilar Cardenas, 22, both of Seattle - were held in the Franklin County jail.

All were being investigated for first-degree kidnap, first-degree assault and burglary, Chambers said.

The fourth, a 23-year-old man accused of driving the vehicle pursued by police, was being held in King County for investigation of felony eluding, King County police spokeswoman Joanne Elledge said. He will be returned to Pasco after resolution of that case, Elledge said. His name was not released.

The Morenos were told by their attackers Saturday that they would be contacted for ransom of $50,000, Chambers said Monday.

Before the abductors left with the child, the Morenos called a friend for help. The friend, whose name was not released, brought several thousand dollars to the Cascade Manor apartments parking lot, where the abductors took the money and fled with the baby and Gabriel Moreno’s pickup and cell phone, Chambers said. He said he did not know whether that money was recovered.

There is no indication the boy’s father knew the abductors, Elledge said. There seems to be “more of a link” between the abductors and Gabriel Moreno, she said.

Chambers declined comment on that aspect of the case.

Manuel Moreno has custody of his son and there were no indications the abduction was part of a custody battle, Chambers said. He said he had no information about the child’s mother or the relationship between the boy’s parents.

Cortes-Aguilar and Aguilar Cardenas were arrested late Sunday after they met the boy’s father in North Bend, about 40 miles east of Seattle, to collect a ransom, Elledge said. She said she did not know if any money changed hands.

Also Sunday, authorities staked out an apartment complex in Burien, south of Seattle, acting on several tips from “persons involved in the case,” Elledge said.

At about 3:30 a.m. Monday, two men left the building with the toddler and fled in a pickup truck after officers tried unsuccessfully to stop them, Elledge said.

The driver and his teenage passenger were arrested after a 20-minute chase, she said.

“We had to weigh our actions because we knew they were armed and had the baby. We needed to make sure that we handled it cautiously,” she said.

The vehicles reached speeds of up to 100 mph, KING-TV reported. Neither Elledge nor Chambers would confirm that report.

Police were investigating whether the kidnapping was linked to several others in the Seattle area.

Five young men abducted a woman April 8 after confronting her and her boyfriend at an apartment complex in Seattle’s White Center district. She was taken to a house in the International District, but escaped with the help of two passersby. The kidnappers, not knowing she had been freed, called her home and demanded a substantial ransom. No money was paid.

“We’re looking into the similarities between both kidnappings very seriously,” Elledge said. “The suspects in both cases have very similar descriptions and the method seems to be similar.”

Elledge said detectives also were looking into three other recent abductions - two in Seattle and one in Tukwila.

In all the cases, five assailants were reportedly driving either a dark pickup truck or a black Mustang.

A tan Chevrolet pickup truck linked to the Pasco kidnapping was found south of Seattle on Sunday, and a woman was arrested for investigation of possessing a stolen vehicle, King County police said. It had not been determined whether she had any role in the abduction.