A community scrambled after 4-year-old Jeremy Guthrie was abducted early on the morning of Aug. 5. After a short search, the boy is safely back with his mother.
On Aug. 5, the Atascadero Police Department reported that Guthrie had been abducted, allegedly by 52-year-old Annette Hale, from the El Camino Homeless Organization located in the First Baptist Church in Atascadero. Police issued a widespread amber alert, coordinated with local media, opened tip lines, and began searching for the boy.
Guthrie was located in the early evening of the same day in an abandoned Atascadero car dealership and reunited with his mother soon after.
Community members rallied after news of the kidnapping broke, clogging online comment sections with tips, posting and re-posting news stories on Facebook, and some had even planned a candlelight vigil.
Hale was arrested and booked in the San Luis Obispo County jail on $1 million bail for alleged kidnapping. If convicted she could face between three and eight years, according to state penal codes. She had a few prior crimes, according to the Atascadero Police Department, but no history of kidnapping or violent crime.
It took about 12 hours to locate Guthrie after he was reported missing, sometime around 6 a.m. The search was conducted with more than 70 law enforcement officials including the Atascadero PD, Atascadero State Hospital, Paso Robles PD, California Highway Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Pretty much every city employee who was working, or could, came in,” Atascadero PD Public Information Officer Gregg Meyer said.
Guthrie was located after someone made a 911 call and reported the boy had been seen at the abandoned car dealership.
“We now have reason to believe the caller was the suspect,” Meyer said. “Don’t ask me why.”
Hale was located and arrested shortly after without incident.
Guthrie sustained no injuries but was taken to Twin Cities Community Hospital for evaluation and released.
Asked about the search, Meyer said it was overwhelmingly successful given the various agencies involved and the fact that training for multi-jurisdictional operations are usually aimed at natural disasters.
“The longer an incident goes on the less likely you are to find the person or at least find the person in good health,” Meyer said. “… The fact that it went as well as it did is a testament for the agencies to work well together.”
Latest in News
-
A civil rights question: San Luis Obispo and advocacy organizations work to settle a lawsuit about the way the city treats its homeless population
Mar 23, 2023 -
'St. Fratty's Day' returns with bigger crowd
Mar 23, 2023 -
Governments in San Luis Obispo County and beyond worry that a tax initiative on the 2024 ballot will undermine local voter power
Mar 23, 2023 - More »
Readers also liked…
-
Path to nature: Volunteers, nonprofits, and local governments work together to make open space accessible by foot, bike, and horse
Jul 21, 2022 -
Less of a yawn: School districts in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties prepare for school days with a later start
Aug 4, 2022 -
Coast Unified teachers upset over new position's salary and qualifications
Oct 20, 2022
More by Colin Rigley
1010 Marsh Street • San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
PHONE/805/546-8208 • FAX/805/546-8641
