Toddler found safe after allegedly being abducted by her mom; suspect still at large, SJ police say

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Missing 2-year-old girl has been found safe after being allegedly abducted by her mother in San Jose, police said Thursday afternoon.

Police say Tayana was located at a residence on 69th Avenue in City of Oakland. Officers say they are working on returning her to San Jose.

Suspect Crystal Mendez is still at large.

According to officials, Crystal Mendez abducted her toddler on Wednesday from a residence in San Jose on Wednesday around 3 p.m. They were last seen at the Oakland Coliseum BART station.

San Jose Police Public Information Officer Sergeant Christian Camarillo says that Mendez does not have custody of the toddler. He says that the baby was placed in the custody of Mendez's ex-husband, Albert, who is not the biological father.

ABC7 spoke with family of the toddler to learn more about what may have led to this abduction.

They say Crystal Mendez left the child with Albert and their 16-year-old daughter in San Jose in late 2022. CPS deemed the toddler "abandoned" and granted guardianship to the ex-husband.

Crystal was staying with Tayana at Albert's residence for the past week before taking off with the child on Wednesday, according to family.

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Police say Mendez is a heavy drug user and was deemed unfit to care for the child.

Mendez has ties to the Tenderloin District in San Francisco and police believe she was living in the basement of a residence on Turk St. The biological father of Tayana also has drug and arrest issues, police said.

Mendez was wearing a white hooded jacket, black skinny jeans with ripped knees and dark colored sneakers. She is 5 feet 1 inches and 150 pounds with long brown hair and brown eyes. Police say she has a tattoo of "Dante" on her neck.

Anyone with information is asked to contact San Jose police.

Stay with ABC7 News on this developing story.

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