Riverside police locate missing toddler, mother taken into custoday. - Los Angeles Times
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Riverside police locate missing toddler, take mother into custody

Photos of missing toddler posted by Riverside police.
Riverside police on Saturday posted this photo of Elias Cruz, 3, who is missing.
(Riverside Police Department )
By Howard Blume
 and Dakota Smith
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Riverside authorities said Sunday that a missing toddler abducted by his mother, who doesn’t have custody of the boy, was located late Saturday night.

Elias Cruz, 3, was found safe in the city of Ontario, Riverside police said. His mother, Samantha Hernandez, was taken into custody.

Cruz’s disappearance prompted a search by police, who said that the mother and child were seen walking near Lake Street and Randolph Street. Police said they believed she may have been headed to the Santa Ana River bottom.

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Police said Sunday morning that the boy would be returned home.

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Howard Blume

Howard Blume covers education for the Los Angeles Times. He’s won the top investigative reporting prize from the L.A. Press Club and print Journalist of the Year from the L.A. Society of Professional Journalists chapter. He recently retired “Deadline L.A.,” a past honoree for best public-affairs radio program, which he produced and co-hosted on KPFK-FM (90.7) for 15 years. He teaches tap dancing and has two superior daughters.

Dakota Smith

Dakota Smith covers City Hall for the Los Angeles Times. She is part of the team that won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for reporting on a leaked audio recording that upended City Hall politics. She joined the newsroom in 2016 and previously covered City Hall for the Los Angeles Daily News. She is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College and lives in Los Angeles.

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