JULIANI CARDENAS - 4 yo - Patterson/Stanislaus CA

Sheriff's deputies in the north valley have called off a statewide amber alert for a young boy kidnapped four days ago. The victim is 4-year-old Juliani Cardenas. Investigators say his mother's ex-boyfriend took him from his home in Patterson. Authorities have focused their search on a nearby canal after a witness
reported seeing a vehicle matching the description of the alleged
kidnapper go into the water. Officers from the Merced county
sheriff's department again assisted in the search today using special
equipment that can see under the murky water. "It's sonar
technology, it's soundwaves that are sent out and then received by the
unit, that's interpreted into a picture that we can see, a dimensional
picture with shadows and shapes," Cdr. James Buttrey said. The
Merced county sheriff's department announced tonight they would suspend
their search for the car in the canal until early next week. And even though the statewide amber alert was called off investigators are still searching for 27-year-old Jose Rodriguez. The search has now narrowed to the valley and San Jose areas. Rodriguez is described as 5'9", 180-pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white and black shirt, checkered shorts and a beanie. He drove a silver Toyota Corolla. California license plate 6HBW445. If you see this car or know where Rodriguez might be, you are urged to call 911 immediately.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/22/AR2011012204657.html
Few leads in search for boy taken from grandmother


The Associated Press

Saturday, January 22, 2011; 10:30 PM

PATTERSON, Calif. -- The search for a 4-year-old boy who authorities
say was snatched from his grandmother's arms stretched into a fourth
day Saturday, with crews pulling yet another vehicle from a California
canal where a man earlier in the week reported seeing a car linked to
the kidnapping plunge into the water.

Before sundown, Stanislaus County authorities said they were
suspending their search of the canal for at least 48 hours to give
divers time to recover.

A search of the Delta-Mendota canal near Patterson has netted
authorities five stolen vehicles, including the Nissan pickup truck
pulled from the water Saturday, but not the Toyota Corolla that the
suspect was last seen driving, officials said.

"We have not had any solid leads that point us any other direction,"
said sheriff's spokesman Royjindar Singh. "It's very unusual for a
kidnapping case."

The boy, Juliani Cardenas, was taken from his grandmother Tuesday by
Jose Esteban Rodriguez, 27, the ex-boyfriend of the boy's mother,
authorities said.

Authorities have released a surveillance video showing Rodriguez
buying beer at a convenience store about an hour before the kidnapping.
But investigators have not uncovered any electronic trail showing that
he has purchased gas or food since Tuesday, Singh said. A statewide
Amber Alert has been reduced to a local alert.

The search for evidence had remained focused on the canal after
authorities said a man reported seeing a vehicle fitting the
description of the Toyota go into the water Tuesday night.

Tabitha Cardenas, the missing boy's mother who is eight months
pregnant with Rodriguez's child, told KPIX earlier in the week that she
was relieved no bodies were discovered underwater, and she didn't
believe her ex-boyfriend would harm her son.

"I knew that if the car was found that Jose and Juliani would not be in it," said Cardenas.

The couple broke up several months ago.

Singh said the truck found Saturday was located about a
mile-and-half from where the man reported seeing the vehicle go into
the water.

"We have nothing more than what we had at the scene at the canal," said Singh.

Singh said the recovered pickup truck was reported stolen in 2009.

Removing the stolen cars, which authorities were not expecting to
find, as well as the need to shut down gates that control water flow,
turned into a time-consuming process, said Singh.

"It's an easy place to dump cars," said Singh. "Somebody could very
easily push a car into the canal and just walk away," he said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17169458
Canal search suspended in missing boy case

The Associated Press
Posted: 01/22/2011 02:53:55 PM PST


PATTERSON, Calif.—Stanislaus
County authorities have suspended their search of a canal linked to the
kidnapping of a 4-year-old boy.

Sheriff's spokesman
Royjindar Singh says the decision Saturday afternoon to call off the
search until "early next week" comes so that divers can have some time
to recover from the ordeal of working in the waters of the canal. Calling off the search of the canal, at least temporarily, comes after a fifth vehicle was found in the canal Saturday. A
Nissan pickup truck, recovered about noon, is the fifth vehicle found
since divers began searching the Delta-Mendota canal near Patterson on
Wednesday. Singh says crews pulled the pickup truck from the
canal about a mile-and-half from where a witness reported seeing a
vehicle that fit the description of a car used in the kidnapping go
into the water Tuesday night

Canal search for kidnapped Patterson boy may resume Tuesday


PATTERSON, CA -- The strongest lead in the disappearance of 4-year-old Juliani Cardenas remains the sighting of a car rolling into the Delta-Mendota Canal near Patterson.
With no other leads panning out, divers may resume their search of the canal on Tuesday, exactly one week after Juliani was allegedly kidnapped by his mother's ex-boyfriend Jose Esteban Rodriguez, Stanislaus County sheriff's spokesman Raj Singh said Monday.

read more>
http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=119378&catid=2

A sixth car has been snagged by dive team members in the Delta/Mendota Canal as they search for a car from an Amber Alert.

4-year-old
Juliani Cardenas was taken from his grandmother's arms a week from her
Patterson home. She identified the suspect as 27-year-old Jose Esteban
Rodriguez. Rodriguez dated Cardenas' mother for awhile before they
recently broke up. An Amber Alert was issued Tuesday evening for
Cardenas and Rodriguez statewide. The alert has since been scaled back
to the Patterson, Modesto and central valley area.

Last Tuesday
night, a farm worker says he saw a car matching the description of the
one Rodriguez is driving go into the canal just outside Patterson.
Rodriguez was seen on gas station surveillance video driving a silver
4-door Toyota Corolla, with plate #6HBW445.

Crews using sonar
technology have found and removed five other cars in the canal, none of
them matched the description of Rodriguez's car. The last car was pulled
out Saturday, divers then took a 48 hour break as the search continued
on land near the canal.

http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-6th-car-found-in-patterson-can-01252011,0,6973243.story

Tire Receipt May Hold Key To Cardenas Canal Search

PATTERSON, Calif. -- Authorities were hopeful Wednesday that a receipt for new tires would help them decide whether or not to contain searching a junked-filled Central Valley canal for any clues to the whereabouts of little Juliani Cardenas.
Divers have salvaged nine vehicles from the canal – seven cars, one truck and a motorcycle – from the canal since launching their search for the vehicle of Jose Rodriguez, his mother’s ex-boyfriend who ripped the Cardenas from the boy’s grandmother’s arms last week and fled in a silver Toyota Corolla.
The canal became a focus of the search after a local farmworker told authorities he had seen a car matching the description of Rodriguez’s car crash into the canal. Tire tracks found along the canal’s edge further raised concerns the distraught Rodriguez may have driven into the murky waters.
On Wednesday, authorities told KTVU that had found a sales receipt from a purchase of tires by the suspected kidnapper. Trends of similar tires were to be compared to the tracks.
Stanislaus County Deputy Sheriff RoyJindar Singh said the canal search has been slow and frustrating.
“The mood is disheartening because we don't have any other leads," Singh said. "In fact, all leads still point to this canal that the car possibly went into this canal."
“We knew we would find vehicles in the canal,” he continued. “We didn’t think we would be this far into this investigation into searching the canal with not having found the suspect’s vehicle with the evidence we had. Or two, we haven’t even located the vehicle that made those tire tracks.”
Divers planned to resume their search of the canal Wednesday morning and pull out yet another vehicle that was discovered too late on Tuesday to be removed.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/26622509/detail.html

Deputy: Investigators in Patterson kidnapped boy case are frustrated



PATTERSON, CA - With no other leads to follow, crews are back at the Delta-Mendota Canal searching for a car possibly linked to a kidnapped 4-year-old boy.

"The evidence is still pointing to the water," Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department Deputy Raj Singh said Wednesday.

Dive teams have hauled 10 stolen or abandoned vehicles from the canal since Wednesday afternoon but not the silver Toyota Corolla that kidnap suspect Jose Rodriguez was driving. Singh said the search is "frustrating for all of our investigators."



read more>

http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=119751&catid=2

Live Stream: Divers find kidnap suspect's car in canal
http://www.news10.net/news/liveonline/default-on.aspx?menuid=181

No Bodies Found In Suspect Car Pulled From Canal



PATTERSON, Calif. -- The Stanislaus County Sheriff said that no bodies were found in the vehicle used to kidnap Patterson four-year-old Juliani Cardenas that was pulled from the murky waters of the Delta-Mendota Canal early Friday evening.

A dive team that entered the murky waters of the Delta-Mendota Canal late Friday afternoon to try and recover the suspect vehicle used during the kidnapping of Patterson four-year-old Juliani Cardenas last week was able to secure a line to the car which was successful pulled from the water.

The car along with two other vehicles was pulled out of the canal at about 5:40 p.m. So far there was no word as to what authorities found inside the recovered silver Toyota Corolla used in the abduction.

A diver with a light could be seen reentering the water shortly after the car was pulled from the canal.

At a press conference immediately after the car was pulled out and given a preliminary search, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said that the bodies of Juliani Cardenas and his suspected abductor Jose Rodriguez were not in the car, but noted that the front windows of the vehicle were both rolled down.

Christianson said that the search of the canal would continue.

"Mostly likely our next step beyond tonight is to come back and continue to search the siphons just to be absolutely sure," said Christianson. "We believe that there is a possibility that Jose and Juliani are probably still in the canal and somewhere downstream."

The sheriff said that he has tried to remain cautiously optimistic about the prospects of bringing the four-year-old home alive, but added that there "was absolutely no information or evidence or anything else that tells us that this car went into the canal and then Jose fled the scene."

Divers from the Action Towing and Dive Team of Fresno commenced the operation at around 4:15. The car was discovered earlier in the day tightly wedged in a siphon drain.



read more>

http://www.ktvu.com/news/26652881/detail.html

Mother Of Missing Boy Asks Public To Continue Search
CARDENAS: Mother Of Missing Boy Holds Out Hope

Mother of Juliani Cardenas asks for an unofficial Amber Alert --

Tabitha Cardenas attended a vigil Sunday night in Modesto for her missing
four-year old and told KTVU that people throughout the state should
continue posting leaflets of her son Juliani Cardenas and his suspected
kidnapper Jose Rodriguez.Cardena’s plea followed investigators' decision to call off a statewide Amber Alert.Rodriguez snatched the boy from his grandmother's arms and drove off in a silver Toyota Corolla Jan.18.A witness said he saw the suspect’s car drive into the Delta-Mendota canal 45-minutes after the kidnapping.After
days of searching the canal, the suspect’s car was pulled from the
water Friday afternoon. Two windows on the car were rolled down, but
there was no sign of the boy or Rodriguez inside.“Jose's still
out there and people need to keep their eyes out for Jose, because he's
going to be easier to spot than my son,” Cardenas said. “You know, for
all we know he could be dressing him up like a girl.”Sunday’s vigil drew a sizable crowd, with people holding candles and holding out hope.Sheleeze
Alvarez said she came to the vigil because of how much it hit home.
“Being a mother of a four-year old and a one-year old, it just touched
me so much,” she said.
http://www.foxreno.com/news/26671687/detail.html

Cardenas Search To Continue By Air, On Ground

PATTERSON, Calif. -- Law enforcement agencies from several counties were expected to begin a visual search Sunday of the 90-mile Delta-Mendota Canal for any signs of the bodies of 4-year-old Juliani Cardenas and his suspected kidnapper, 27-year-old Esteban Rodriguez.
Investigators said sonar confirmed Saturday there were no bodies in the area of water where Rodriguez's car was found Friday night.
But the sheriff's department says it still believes the bodies are somewhere in the irrigation canal.
Juliani's grandmother Amparo Cardenas said Saturday that she believed Rodriguez is hiding out somewhere with Juliani and that it's time for Rodriguez to bring her grandson home.
“Jose says he loves my grandson. This is the moment to show. Don't make it any harder,” said Cardenas. “He has to prove me he really did love my grandson.”
The California Highway Patrol was expected to search the canal by air while local law enforcement agencies would patrol from the roadways bordering the canal.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/26667835/detail.html