Posted by AP February 26, 2005
Missing kids recovered near Border Field State Park
Imperial Beach, Calif. - 2/25/05 -- Border Patrol Agents from the Imperial Beach Station reunited two children, who were abducted over four years ago, with their father early Friday morning. A Border Patrol Agent working at the Border Field State Park Thursday afternoon observed an adult female and two minor children on the beach in Mexico taking pictures of themselves near the border fence. Shortly afterwards, the Agent saw the children on the United States side of the fence walking north from the international boundary. When the Agent approached the children on the beach, he saw the adult female running south away from the fence in Mexico. While talking to the children, the agent discovered a hand-written letter written by the children's mother.
The children's mother wanted to take a few pictures with the children before returning them to their father. The mother, Gloria Christina Terranova, identified herself in the first line of the two-page letter and then apologized for taking the children. The note was accompanied by pictures of the children and Gloria Terranova with "abducted" and "abductor" above the pictures and "America's Most Wanted" hand-written next to the pictures. The Border Patrol immediately contacted the Mexican authorities who conducted a search for the children's mother. They were unable to locate her.
The children were taken to the Imperial Beach Station where agents were able to contact the children's father, Tom Tarranova of Glendale, California, from a phone number that was part of the hand-written letter. The children were turned over to the custody of the San Diego Sheriff's Department who, in turn, released them to the custody of the Glendale Police Department to be reunited with their father.
The tearful reunion happened early Friday morning. The children, originally English speakers, returned home to their father after their four-year absence, speaking only Spanish. According to the Glendale police officers, after a few minutes the language barrier melted away when the older child started to remember some English. The children recognized their father and were glad to be home.
After further investigation into the case, officers learned that the Tarranova's case had been featured on America' Most Wanted and various local stations. Officers had followed leads as far as Arizona, Nevada and Maine in attempting to solve the case. Investigators believe Gloria Terranova may have taken the children to Guadalajara, Mexico after the January 11, 2001 abduction.
