Baby Abducted From Stroller At Gunpoint In Georgia Reunited With Family

A 1-year-old Georgia baby has been reunited with loved ones after a pair of suspects abducted the boy at gunpoint while his mother was taking him for a walk, authorities said.

On Aug. 29, Leslie Bamaca was pushing her son, Mateo Montufar-Barrera, in a stroller near their apartment complex in Chamblee around 12:30 p.m.

Bamaca told authorities that a man got out of a maroon Acura SUV, pointed a gun at her and tried to take Mateo from the stroller, according to a Chamblee Police Department news release obtained by CNN.

Bamaca wrestled away the gun and attempted to shoot the man, but the weapon failed to fire. Amid the confusion, a woman jumped from the SUV and grabbed the baby, police said.

Before the alleged kidnappers drove off with Mateo, the distraught mother removed one of the man’s shoes and ripped his shorts.

Jessica Bamaca told Atlanta’s WSB-TV that her sister, who was bleeding and crying, “fought back until the last second” and “did all she could” to rescue the little boy.

Police immediately issued an Amber Alert. Around four and a half hours later and sixty miles away, state troopers pulled over the alleged abductors, identified as Maynor Valera-Zuniga and Kristin Valera-Zuniga, and took them into custody. They also rescued Mateo, whom the married couple allegedly had disguised in a dress.

Both Maynor and Kristin Valera-Zuniga face charges that include kidnapping, according to DeKalb County Jail records.

“We have no idea who they are. It’s the first time we’ve seen them. We don’t know where they came from. We don’t know what their intentions were,” Jessica Bamaca said.

“I thank God for the opportunity to see him again,” she added of her nephew Mateo, who was unharmed and reunited with family. “We’re just so grateful toward him and toward all the people who helped us out as well. It feels comforting that he’s finally home.”