BRANDON CHAPO - 14 Months - Las Cruces NM

Las Cruces police seek help in finding missing child (10:22 a.m.)

Posted: 12/29/2010 10:18:02 AM MST



Jennifer Platero (DASO)

Las Cruces Police are asking for the public's help in locating a
14-month-old boy who was abducted by a family member who may be headed
toward the Albuquerque area.

Brandon Chapo was taken by a relative at around 7 p.m. Tuesday evening
and is believed to be with the woman who is possibly headed to
Albuquerque or Laguna Pueblo. The woman, 29-year-old Jennifer Platero,
is a cousin to the boy's mother. Platero is believed to have left Las
Cruces driving a beige Chrysler Town and Country minivan with New
Mexico license plate DV6622.

Las Cruces Police detective learned that the relatives drove to Las
Cruces on Tuesday and were going to stay the night at a local motel.
But, at around 7 p.m. Tuesday, Platero took the boy without permission and left in the minivan.

Brandon Chapo is Native American with brown hair, brown eyes and a light complexion.

Platero, also Native American, is described as being 5-feet-1-inches
tall and weighs 160 pounds. She has brown shoulder length hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jennifer Platero or Brandon Chapo is asked to call 911 immediately.

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Too young to run away or call for help on his own, a 14-month-old boy
who disappeared from Las Cruces has been found, unharmed, less than a
day after he went missing. Brandon Chapo is in the hands of Child
Protective Services.Now investigators are focusing on the family member he was found with along Interstate-25.Jennifer
Platero, 29, a cousin of baby Brandon's mother, is who New Mexico State
Police said they found the child with Wednesday afternoon. The two
were tracked down nearly 20-miles North of Truth or Consequences.Police
said they believe the relative, a trusted family member, disappeared
with Brandon around 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Bruce Motel located at 800
South Main Street in Las Cruces was the last place Brandon's mother saw
him, police said.At this point in the investigation, why Platero hit the road with Brandon or where they were headed remain a mystery.Anytime
a child is missing, there is potential for danger, and even around
trusted family members, parents can never be too careful, police said."Anytime
a child is not with his or her parents there's a potential for danger,"
Dan Trujillo, Spokesperson for the Las Cruces Police Department, said.
"And that's because nobody takes better care of their children than
their parents."And children missing at the hands of a relative is not unusual, police said."Sometimes
there are obviously husband and wife differences of opinions but those
also extend to the families," Trujillo said. "So many times family
members do take children - maybe they think they're doing it for their
own good or for the good of the child, we don't know exactly."Platero will be interviewed, and charges are pending in the investigation, police said.