NATALIE FLORES - 5 yo - Phoenix AZ

PHOENIX — A 5-year-old girl abducted by a man as she played
outside her Phoenix home Friday was rescued hours later after police
chased down the suspect's pickup and found her "alive and well" inside,
officials said.
Natalie Flores was located around 9 p.m. after a patrol officer
spotted the truck of the man accused of kidnapping her, Sgt. Andy Hill
said.

"We have had our Christmas miracle," Hill said. "She is alive and well."



Hill credited a "very alert" policeman with taking quick action
after spotting what appeared to be the suspect's vehicle driving on a
west Phoenix avenue, even though the license plate was different from
earlier reports.

Officer Mike Burns pulled alongside the truck and "saw a suspect
that matched the description and thought he saw a small child," Hill
told The Associated Press.

He said the pickup sped off and Burns gave chase and alerted the
force. Officers put spike strips across the road several blocks away
that punctured the suspect's tires and caused him to lose control and
crash.

The man took off through the neighborhood on foot but was chased down by officers after about a block and arrested.

Police have not released the suspect's name or provided any details about him.

"We have to determine if this is the original suspect," Hill said.

The sergeant said Natalie appeared to be in good shape but was being examined by health officials and he had no other details.

Police received the call that Natalie had been taken at about 2:15
p.m. An Amber Alert was issued, and authorities began combing the area
on foot, by car and with helicopters.

Hill said Natalie had been playing in a common area at the complex
with her two sisters, ages 7 and 9, when a man parked his brown pickup
in a nearby parking lot and walked over to them carrying a camera.

"He physically grabbed the 7-year-old girl and forcibly took a photo of her," Hill said.

The man then forced Natalie into the truck and drove away. Witnesses
reported that as the man was fleeing, he hit a parked car before
entering southbound 19th Avenue.

"At that point, we had a couple of adult witnesses there who saw the suspect and the girl inside the truck with him," Hill said.

Natalie and her sisters had been staying at an apartment in the
complex with an aunt, who apparently has legal custody of them, and the
aunt's boyfriend, Hill said. The girls' parents live separately out of
state.

After the abduction, Natalie's older sister went to a neighbor's
apartment and pounded on the door, The Arizona Republic reported on its
Web site. The woman who answered, Donna Reed, said the girl was
carrying a ball and appeared to be shaking.

"She said some man just took her little sister," Reed told the newspaper. "She was a nervous wreck."

Reed called 911.

The FBI and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also helped with the search.

Phoenix police have identified a suspect accused of kidnapping and
molesting a 5-year-old girl before a patrol officer spotted his car and
helped rescue the child.
Forty-five-year-old Larry Jon Ladwig
was booked into jail early Saturday on charges of kidnapping, sexual
molestation of a child, aggravated assault of a police officer and
felony flight. It's unclear whether Ladwig has a lawyer.
The girl was rescued at about 9:30 p.m. Friday, more than seven hours after
police believe Ladwig kidnapped her while she was playing outside a
Phoenix apartment building.
Police say the girl is doing well and called her rescue a "Christmas miracle."

A transient drug addict arrested on Christmas
on suspicion of child molestation several hours after a 5-year-old went
missing from her family's Phoenix apartment complex was convicted twice
in the past five years for possession of methamphetamine, court records
show.
Larry Jon Ladwig, 45, was on parole after his July release from the
Arizona Department of Corrections after serving a two-year sentence on
a 2007 drug conviction. He had missed at least one meeting with his
parole officer, according to authorities. His supervision was set to
end in February.
Ladwig made his initial court appearance Saturday. Flanked by two
detention officers, he stood silent and stared at the floor as a
Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered him held without bond
because of the allegations of sexual contact with a minor under 15.
Investigators said Ladwig punched one officer in the face during his
Saturday night arrest after a vigilant Phoenix officer spotted a truck
based on the description from an Amber Alert on the girl's kidnapping
from an apartment complex near Cactus Road and 19th Avenue.
"During the interview with (Ladwig), he admitted to having the girl
in his vehicle and stated he was trying to take her home,"
investigators wrote in the probable cause statement for his arrest.
Prior to his Christmas arrest, Ladwig was arrested in August 2007
during a traffic stop near Hatcher Road and Seventh Avenue. The Phoenix
officer found a small baggie of meth inside a larger plastic bag
containing Ladwig's ID and credit cards, according to court records.
Three years earlier, a resident alerted police to Ladwig's vehicle
parked behind a strip mall on West Bell Road. He was found passed out
with meth and syringes on the dashboard. He was covered in pornographic
magazines, "wearing women's panties and a woman's halter top," police
wrote in court records.
Police said Ladwig also had prior convictions in California. Court
records suggested he had a history of burglary, theft and other crimes.

The girl abducted on Christmas was back in the custody of her aunt, whom she lives with.
A forensic medical examination showed she suffered an injury
consistent with sexual abuse. She also told investigators Ladwig
touched her inappropriately, according to court records.
Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said investigators suggested Ladwig
could be linked to other cases of sexual molestation, however no
additional connection was made.
Phoenix officer Mike Burns, a K-9 handler who spotted Ladwig's
vehicle Friday night, was expected to receive a commendation for his
work in Ladwig's arrest.
Ladwig faces charges of kidnapping, child abuse, aggravated assault
on a police officer and unlawful flight from law enforcement, in
addition to child molestation.

A man who kidnapped a 5-year-old girl on Christmas Day, triggering an
Amber Alert, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, aggravated-assault,
child-molestation and two child-pornography charges in Maricopa County
Superior Court on Tuesday.
Larry Jon Ladwig, 46, faces prison terms totaling 30 years under the
terms of his plea agreement.Ladwig stood sullenly in front of the judge and struggled to find his
voice during the proceeding. His attorney, Lindsay Abramson, informed
Judge Paul McMurdie that Ladwig had asked to be sentenced to death.
McMurdie informed him that a death sentence was not an option for the
crimes to which he had confessed and ordered that Ladwig undergo a
psychological evaluation before his sentencing July 16.
On Christmas Day, a man later identified as Ladwig snatched the girl
from in front of her aunt's apartment near 19th Avenue and Cactus Road.
She was playing with her sisters and was climbing a tree when Ladwig
grabbed her and threw her into his truck.
He took her to an undisclosed location, where he stripped her to her
underpants and touched her sexually and then took photographs of himself
with her in sexually suggestive positions, according to statements in
court.
Several hours after the abduction, a Phoenix police officer spotted a
man and a young girl in a truck that matched descriptions from the
Amber Alert and turned on his flashing lights. Ladwig fled, only to
crash into an apartment complex. He then tussled with arresting
officers.
Ladwig was indicted on nine counts, including child abuse,
kidnapping, aggravated assault, unlawful flight, molestation of a child,
possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. If he had been convicted,
he could have spent a lifetime in prison.
Ladwig had previously been convicted of theft, burglary and drug
possession.
He was allowed to plead to five counts, including two of attempted
sexual exploitation of a minor - child-pornography charges that were not
included in the original indictment. The aggravated-assault charge was
for striking a police officer during his arrest.

The man who set off a Christmas day Amber Alert in the valley learned
his punishment Friday. Larry Ladwig covered his face in court as
the judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison.


Back on Christmasday, Ladwig kidnapped a 5-year-old girl outside an apartment complex
near 19th Avenue and Cactus Road in Phoenix. Ladwig also received
an additional three year probation term for assaulting the police
officer who rescued the victim from Ladwig's car following a high-speed
chase. Earlier, Ladwig pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping,
sexual conduct with a minor, attempted sexual exploitation of a minor,
attempted molestation of a child, and aggravated assault. Ladwig
apparently wanted to be sentenced to death, but the death penalty was
not applicable in this case.