The Tulare County child abduction unit rescues child from mother’s former boyfriend, handed over to father
TULARE COUNTY – The same office that prosecutes local crimes in court, rescued an abducted child last week near Oregon.
The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office announced last week that their bureau of investigations child abduction unit traveled to Crescent City, Calif. on Sept. 1 to recover a taken child. According to the DA’s office, the child was taken by their mother’s former boyfriend, Billy Aldama, against court order. Investigators traveled with the child back to Tulare County and reunite her with her biological father.
When the biological mother and Aldama separated, the mother agreed to have him take care of her daughter because she was no longer capable of caring for her. During this time, the biological father lost communication with the mother and his daughter.
On Aug. 19 of this year the Tulare County Superior Court granted the father legal and physical custody of his daughter. After several unsuccessful attempts to locate the child by him and his family, assistance was sought from the DA’s child abduction unit.
After several days of investigation, and with the assistance of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office and the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services, Aldama and the child were located in Crescent City. On Aug. 31, deputies from the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office along with a social worker from the Del Norte County Health and Human Services, recovered the child without incident from Aldama’s residence.
Investigators from the abduction unit traveled to Crescent City, which is approximately 20 miles south of the Oregon border and recovered the child from Del Norte County social workers. The following day, investigators safely reunited the child with the biological father in Tulare County.
The child abduction unit regularly returns abducted children to their legal guardians. TCDA investigators have recovered abducted children from across the United States and Mexico and as far away as New Zealand.
