MIDVALE, Utah — A 4-year-old was rescued after an AMBER Alert was issued for her alleged kidnapping by a man in Midvale Friday evening.
The suspect was apprehended the following day.
The investigation began around 7:30 p.m. when the ex-girlfriend of 22-year-old Jonathan Moises Wuanloxten Hidalgo called him for a ride in the area of Tuscany View Drive and Bingham Junction Highway. Police say he picked up the woman and her 4-year-old niece, then stabbed the woman, dragged her out of the vehicle, and left her on the side of the road as he drove away.
The woman, who is 22 years old, was still hospitalized in critical condition as of Monday but she is improving slightly and is expected to survive, police told FOX 13 News.
Her 4-year-old niece was still in the car as Hidalgo drove away, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. An AMBER Alert was then issued around 9:10 p.m.
Shortly after the alert, a woman called police and said she found the girl on the side of the road, not far from the initial stabbing incident.
FOX 13 News reporter Spencer Joseph arrived at the scene when the woman asked for help in connecting with police after finding the child. FOX 13 photojournalist Richard Bork captured the moment the girl was taken by a police officer and placed safely inside an SUV.
One of the more incredible moments in my news career. While arriving on scene a woman flagged me down and said that she found a girl who is scared and left alone. I helped her get Police and they determined that little girl was the one missing in this amber alert. @fox13 pic.twitter.com/Nb842tpMUx
— Spencer Joseph (@SpencerJosephTV) December 10, 2022
Rivera said officers found Hidalgo's vehicle on the side of I-15 near 3300 South, but it was abandoned and Hidalgo was not inside.
"This is a very violent crime," Rivera said Friday night. "Somebody that would just stab someone, leave them in the streets, and then drop off a child in the near area in this weather, in the dark... he needs to be caught."
Hidalgo was eventually located and arrested Saturday in Ogden, near 24th Street and A Avenue.
