Less than 72 hours after being violently snatched off a Philadelphia street as she walked home from visiting her godson, Carlesha Freeland-Gaither has been rescued from the "vicious predator" police say kidnapped her. Now as she recovers from the attack that was caught on video and seen nationally, focus moves to her alleged abductor, who authorities have linked to a similar crime against a teenage girl.
Thank you," Keisha Gaither, the woman's overjoyed mother, told the public at a news conference Wednesday night. Her family erupted into applause as the woman spoke.
The year-old was rescued from the car of her alleged kidnapper, year-old Delvin Barnes, in a Jessup, Maryland, parking lot Wednesday afternoon, officials said. She suffered some injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital in Columbia, Maryland, for treatment, police said. She was listed in good condition and is expected to recover. You hope, you hope, you hope, but you don't really know until you're actually able to get her, and make sure she's OK. So it's very important that this has a happy ending," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said.
They believed the man may have been the suspect after seeing surveillance photos in news reports, Philadelphia detectives said.
Authorities began tracking his gray Ford Taurus through a GPS device placed inside the vehicle by the car dealership where it was purchased, detectives said.
