Sketch Released of Amber Alert Suspect in Baby Case

San Jose Police have released a sketch of a woman wanted in connection with the kidnapping of an 11-month-old girl on Monday, and are asking for the public's help in finding her.

The child, Gabriella Quintero, was taken at about 6:30 a.m. after her mother briefly left her unattended in a 2006 Jeep Liberty outside their home in the 2300 block of Amador Court in East San Jose, police said.

The mother, Graciella Quintero, left momentarily to close her garage door, leaving the key in the ignition, and when she came back she saw her car being driven away with the infant inside, police said.

Police are not sure if the suspect is male or female since no one reported seeing the driver enter or leave the Jeep, Dwyer said. The girl's mother, Graciella Quintero, said she had noticed a suspicious woman who was wearing a dark top and dark pants and carrying a red-and-white Target bag near the Jeep shortly before it was stolen, Dwyer said. It is not clear whether the person who took the car knew there was a baby in the backseat, police said Monday.

The girl was found by police unharmed inside the abandoned Jeep at 11:22 a.m. about 4 miles to the south, in the 400 block of Amargosa Court in San Jose.

The sketch is of a woman the mother saw standing nearby, just before the Jeep was taken. The woman is described as Hispanic, 38 to 45 years old about, 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 160 pounds, with a dark complexion.

Her dark hair was pulled back low in a bun and she was wearing a dark, possibly suede tight jacket and dark pants, police said.

Meanwhile, a San Jose police officer who rescued the infant girl after the nearly five-hour ordeal said the infant was crying when he found her and gave him a hug when he took her out.

Officer Carlos Acosta described the short few minutes it took to reach the parked Jeep, after receiving a citizen's sighting, as "gut wrenching."  He found the girl crouching in a child seat, distressed but unharmed.

Acosta, a 14-year veteran officer, accompanied the infant in an ambulance to a hospital and said she was "very excited" during an emotional reunion with her mother.

"It was a great feeling to locate her safely and return her to her mother," Acosta said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon outside police headquarters at 201 W. Mission St. in San Jose.

The Jeep was found at an apartment complex near the Seven Trees Community Center after a citizen reported it to an apartment security guard who called 911 at 11:17 a.m., police Sgt. Jason Dwyer said. Acosta and an unidentified police recruit, who were patrolling the area, got the call and arrived at 11:22 a.m. to find the white 2006 Jeep in a carport area in the 400 block of Amargosa Court, Dwyer said.

The Jeep was parked unevenly and the hazard lights were blinking which attracted the interest of the citizen who reported the vehicle, Dwyer said.

"We want to know who took the car and what their motivation was," he said. Acosta said after he and the recruit reached the Jeep, he looked in and saw the girl reflected in the rear view mirror. He tried one door that was locked and opened another door to find the girl crying, crouching and unbuckled in the baby seat.

Acosta, the father of two sons and a daughter, said the girl appeared "distraught" and "in a daze" and that he became emotional himself, reacting "like a dad" and described himself "feeling like most parents would have."

"She did give me a hug" after he knelt to take her out of the car, Acosta said. Once the ambulance came, he complied with a request from paramedics to stay with her for the ride to the hospital. He remained next to her while she sat in her car seat with a toy a citizen had given her, Acosta said.

Approximately 50 police officers who participated in the successful Amber Alert search. The California Highway Patrol was involved, and an aerial search was conducted.

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Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to call the San Jose Police Department's robbery unit at 408-277-4166 or make an anonymous call to Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867.

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