The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Cops continue search for kidnapping suspects

By Justin Berton

When tiny 8-month-old Yecenia Solorzano was stolen from her baby-sitter's arms at gunpoint one early morning in June, more than 80 Sunnyvale officers quickly hit the streets to find her.

Twenty FBI agents were on the scene in a matter of hours, and dozens of reporters and camera crews jammed in front of Yecenia's home on Jamestown Drive.

Then, just 11 hours after the kidnapping, police found Yecenia unharmed and returned her to her family in what seemed like the happy ending to a horrific story.

But the story continues.

The search for Yecenia concluded long ago, but the hunt for her abductors is a continuing priority for two Sunnyvale detectives, David Pitts and Kevin Richlin.

"Having the child being returned unharmed was one goal," Pitts said. "Now we have to find the people who took her."

Each morning, Pitts and Richlin begin their day by going over the case and discussing what new leads can be examined. Or, more likely, they re-examine old information to look in a new direction. The two often times go back to the Cherry Chase neighborhood to rehash the events one more time with neighbors who were home the morning of June 11.

"Sometimes they will tell us something that they think is nothing, and we'll look at each other and say, 'Oh, really?' " Richlin said.

The two have retraced the steps of the abductors, piecing together a picture of how the suspects made their way from Yecenia's Sunnyvale home to the lawn of a Taco Bell in Mountain View, where a passersby found the baby wrapped in a blanket.

They have interviewed hundreds of neighbors, friends and relatives twice over. They continue to, in the words of their supervisor, Lt. Tom Piatanesi, "exhaust all possible leads."

While the number of officials working on the case has dramatically decreased, the scope of the investigation has increased.

Pitts and Richlin have worked with FBI profilers in Quantico, Va., to help draft a personality sketch of their suspects. They have hired language translators to assist them in their numerous interviews.

"This remains a very high-priority case for us," Piatanesi said. "It was quite a shock to have these individuals come in and steal this child."

It was just before 11 a.m. on a bright June morning when three suspects drove up to the Solorzano home and knocked at the door. Witnesses told police one man, a Hispanic male in his early 20s wearing a polo shirt with horizontal purple stripes, wielded a handgun and demanded that the baby-sitter hand over Yecenia.

Two other suspects accompanied the gunman, witnesses said, speaking both English and Spanish during the abduction. With Yecenia in their possession, the three suspects fled the area in a reddish-maroon four-door sedan last seen at Bernardo Avenue and El Camino Real. Several hours later, Yecenia's father, Benito, received a phone call from the kidnappers, asking for an undisclosed amount of money in exchange for the safe return of his daughter.

But before Solorzano made arrangements for an exchange, a group of teenagers at a Taco Bell in the 3800 block of El Camino Real came across the baby and notified police.

Both of Yecenia's parents were at the family-owned Benito's Cleaning Service during the abduction.

Then, as now, the Solorzano family has declined to comment on the incident.

In the initial days of the abduction, Sunnyvale officers spoke with the Solorzano family daily, discussing the latest details of the investigation.

Now, as Yecenia prepares to celebrate her first birthday, communication is less frequent as the two sides continue with their daily lives.

For Pitts and Richlin, that means investigating every lead, no matter how minuscule.

"We're in a position right now that we have so much information, that if we get a break right now, this thing could be over this week," Pitts said.

A $5,000 reward is available for those with information leading to the capture of the suspects. Call 730-7794.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 9, 1998.
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