Police make arrests in child abduction case

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - Two people are facing charges in a child abduction investigation in Albemarle County.

The Albemarle County Police Department announced Wednesday, May 17, that 34-year-old Catherine Ortiz-Caridad and 24-year-old Wilson Canan-Cruz were taken into custody without incident Monday and are being held at the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail without bond. They’re both charged with abdication and false police report.

ACPD says officers were called out Sunday, April 23, to a home on Wilton Farm Road for a reported infant abduction in progress. There, officers found three adults arguing over the custody of an infant. Detectives believe the biological mother had placed her baby in the care of relatives while she established herself in another state. When the mother returned to Virginia, the temporary guardians prevented her access to the infant, and presented themselves to the police as the biological parents.

The infant, who has been in the custody of Social Services since the April 23, was returned to the out-of-state mother after a DNA test confirmed she was the biological parent.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.

Copyright 2023 WVIR. All rights reserved.