Morgan Hill
– An infant missing out of Tulare County for nearly a week was
found by Santa Clara sheriff’s deputies at the home of a north
Morgan Hill couple Tuesday after their relative brought the child
there pretending it was his own, police said.
Morgan Hill – An infant missing out of Tulare County for nearly a week was found by Santa Clara sheriff’s deputies at the home of a north Morgan Hill couple Tuesday after their relative brought the child there pretending it was his own, police said.
Linda Pope, 52, and Bahadur Singh, 36, were arrested by Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies about 4am on suspicion of kidnapping 3-month old Bryce Aron Quartz.
According to police, Pope was baby-sitting the 3-month-old infant in Tulare April 25 and took off with him to San Jose where she picked up Singh from the main jail – where he had recently been released on public drunkenness charges. She convinced Singh the baby was his, and they took the baby to Singh’s sister’s home in Morgan Hill where they introduced the child as their own.
“They offered to help them get on their feet,” Deputy Serg Palanov said. “(Singh’s relatives) were going to take the two baby shopping for clothes and a crib (when deputies arrived.) They were distraught when they realized what was going on.”
Detectives from the Tulare Police Department tracked Pope to Santa Clara County and asked the Sheriff’s office for assistance.
“We were on it nonstop making contact with everybody Pope knew. You name it we did it,” said Tulare Police Capt. Tom Munoz. “Our detectives went to San Jose and started knocking on doors, which led us to Morgan Hill. We feel there is significant evidence to charge both with kidnapping.”
The infant’s parents were in Tulare visiting relatives from Reno. During their vacation they left their son with the friend of a friend – Pope – who never returned him, police said.
She took off in a car she was borrowing from a local church group and headed north. Pope is a longtime Tulare resident, but drifted back and forth between Santa Clara County, police said.
“After a day of frantically looking, (the boy’s parents) came to us,” Munoz said. “Obviously there’s a lot more to this, but our priority was to locate the child.”
The baby appeared to be in good condition, however, Child Protective Services officials were going to perform tests to make certain he was unharmed, police said.
Police were concerned about the child’s health since he was just 3 months old and missing for nearly a week.
He was reunited with his parents Tuesday afternoon in Tulare.
“For us, this is a very happy ending,” Munoz said.
Kristen Munson is a staff writer. Reach her at 847-7158, or at km*****@gi************.com.
