A 6-month old girl, who was the subject of an Amber Alert in five Southern California counties, was found safe in Arizona on Wednesday, authorities said.
The baby was at her Huntington Beach home at 9 a.m. with her grandmother, 57-year-old Carolyn Ferguson, when the child was last seen, an unidentified family member told police.
Ferguson has a “history of mental illness and is in need of medication,” police said in a news release issued about 4 p.m.
She had been spotted in her white 2007 PT Cruiser at 10 a.m. in Fontana, police said. It was believed she was headed to Arizona with the girl, according to CHP.
Ferguson was taken into custody around 6:30 p.m. at a truck stop in the town of Tonopah, Arizona after someone aware of the Amber Alert recognized her and called authorities, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department.
AMBER ALERT has been cancelled – the missing baby and grandmother have been located safe. Thank you to the community for all the help!!
— Huntington Beach PD (@HBPD_PIO) July 3, 2014
Ferguson and the child were driven to the truck stop by a good Samaritan after the woman’s car broke down on Interstate 10, according to Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy.
Ferguson took off with the baby Wednesday morning after a “disagreement” with her daughter the night before, Handy said.
Earlier on Wednesday, police requested that CHP put out an Amber Alert for the child, Huntington Beach police Lt. Mitchell O’Brien said. An Amber Alert was initially issued by the California Highway Patrol in Orange County but not statewide, a spokesperson with CHP’s Orange County communications center said.
An alert was sent to cellphones in Southern California about 5:45 p.m. About a half-hour later, CHP sent out a news release that stated the alert was in effect for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Huntington Beach Police Department at 714-960-8825.
