Mother of Abducted Georgia Teen Linked to Suspect
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National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(ELLENWOOD, Ga.) — The mother of the Georgia teen who was found safe after allegedly being abducted was previously arrested on drug trafficking charges along with one of the suspects arrested in connection with her daughter’s disappearance, according to court records.
Ayvani Hope Perez, 14, was found at a location in Conyers, Ga., Wednesday about 26 miles from her Ellenwood, Ga., home, where police say she was abducted by two armed men during a home invasion early Tuesday morning.
Authorities said the two men seen in composite drawings that broke into the home and carried out the alleged abduction are still being sought.
“There are several other subjects, suspects that we are still investigating,” FBI special agent Rick Maxwell said Wednesday.
Two suspects taken into custody Wednesday were identified by the FBI as Wildrego Jackson of Atlanta for conspiracy to kidnap, and Juan Alberto Contreras-Rodriguez, a 40-year-old Mexican national who is being held on immigration-related charges.
Police said Contreras-Rodriguez and Jackson, who have not been charged in the case, are not the two men pictured in the sketches and that there might be other arrests.
Court records show that Contreras-Rodriguez and the teen’s mother, Maria Corral, were arrested on drug charges the same day in February 2012. In news reports at the time, police said they were busted as part of an alleged marijuana trafficking ring. The charges against the two were later dropped.
“So this case has these two odd things going on inside it — a relationship between the mother and one of the abductors and is this even a logical house to break into,” former FBI agent and ABC News consultant Brad Garrett said.
Investigators refused to give specifics on Perez’s rescue. Clayton County Police Chief Gregory Porter would only say the rescue was possible “through hardcore police work.”
Neighbors say Perez was smiling and kissing her loved ones upon her return.
“I said to her, ‘I want you to know that I’ve been praying for you and I knew God would come to you,’ and she said, ‘Thank you,'” neighbor Lucille Howard said.
Perez was in her pajamas when police say two men broke in the back door of her home Tuesday at 2:15 a.m. looking for jewelry and money. When Perez’s mother said the family didn’t have any, the suspects shot the family dog and fled the home with Perez, according to police.
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