Tip Leads To Temecula Arrest Of Alleged Child-Abducting Mom

TEMECULA, CA --- Two children allegedly abducted by their mother during a custody visit last month in El Monte were located in Temecula, where the woman was arrested, police said today.   

The father of the 6- and 10-year-old boys dropped them off about noon on May 21 for a supervised visit with their mother, 32-year-old Emily Lynn Moon,at a McDonald's restaurant in the 11600 block of Valley Boulevard, according to El Monte police.   

The boys were with Moon when the designated court monitor left momentarily. The monitor returned and found that Moon and the children were no longer in the restaurant, police said.   

The monitor checked the surrounding area and did not locate Moon or the boys. At the time, it was believed Moon may have taken the boys to her Lake Elsinore home, police said.   

On Tuesday afternoon, El Monte police detectives got a tip and subsequently located the boys and Moon in Temecula. 

"Both children appeared to be unharmed but very hungry,'' El Monte police Lt. Christopher Cano said.   

Moon was taken into custody and the boys were placed into protective custody before being returned to their father later in the evening, Cano said.   Moon was jailed in El Monte in lieu of $380,000 bail, according to sheriff's online inmate records.

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--City News Service