4-Year-Old Girl, Mother In Bridgeport Custody Case Found Safe: UPDATE

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Bridgeport police reported Wednesday that 4-year-old Aliyah Serrano and her mother, 33-year-old Valery Thayris Colon, who are at the center of a custody battle in Connecticut and Puerto Rico, have been found safe.

The two were located outside the State of Connecticut, and Bridgeport police will ask state authorities to cancel the Silver Alert that was posted about them.

"Law enforcement officials in their jurisdiction have verified them both to be safe and in good health," said Bridgeport Police Capt. Kevin Gilleran in a statement. "Their current location will not be disclosed to the public."

According to Bridgeport police, the pair were part of a 2021 custody case in New Haven, and a 2022 domestic violence case in Puerto Rico:

According to Puerto Rico authorities, there was contact between Rafael Serrano and Valery Colon in Puerto Rico during the month of February 2022. Valery Colon filed domestic violence complaints against Rafael Serrano (also known as Rafael Serrano Alvarez) in Puerto Rico. This facilitated protective orders for Valery Colon and their daughter Aliyah Serrano in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico law enforcement officers applied for an extraditable arrest warrant for Rafael Serrano Alvarez in March of 2022 (“violation of cruelty towards wife”). That arrest warrant was signed by a judge in Puerto Rico on April 7, 2022.

Rafael Serrano applied for custody of Aliyah Serrano in New Haven, CT in August of 2021. Judgement was entered at New Haven Superior Court on July 3, 2023.

38-year-old Rafael Serrano Alvarez (aka 38-year-old Rafael Serrano) was arrested in Bridgeport Connecticut late this afternoon and is being held as a fugitive from justice with a $250,000 bond. He will be arraigned in Bridgeport Superior Court [Wednesday] morning where the extradition process will begin.