Watsonville Girl Found Safe After Hours-Long Standoff, Police Say

WATSONVILLE, CA — A Watsonville girl taken by her father Sunday night is now home safe with her mother, the Watsonville Police Department said.

Miguel Torres, 39, took his one-year-old daughter after an argument with the girl's mother, the Watsonville Police Department said. Watsonville police found the pair sitting in his 2012 Chevy Silverado truck Monday afternoon and tried to convince him to surrender his daughter, police said. Officers ultimately broke to windows to retrieve the girl from his backseat after negotiating with Torres for hours, police said.

Torres was arrested on suspicion of charges related to child cruelty, resisting police and evading officers, and booked into Santa Cruz County jail Tuesday, jail records show.

Early Monday morning, Torres reportedly sped away from the California Highway Patrol in Santa Cruz after an officer tried to stop him to investigate a hit-and-run involving his car. CHP called off the pursuit while driving northbound on Highway 17 near Scotts Valley after realizing there was a child unsecured in the truck, police said. Torres' truck was not outfitted with a car seat, police said.

Officials asked the public to be on the lookout for his car, and thanks to a tip, his truck was found Monday afternoon, parked on a ranch along the 200 block of Riverside Road.

Officers and the Watsonville police Crisis Negotiation Team spoke with him for hours, trying to get him to give up his daughter. Torres revved his engine and drove into unmarked police cars several times, police said. Police used distractionary devices, then broke the windows and got his daughter.

Torres was tased after being combative toward officers, police said. He was hospitalized and is expected to be fine.

CHP continues to investigate the hit-and-run and pursuit.