Man accused of abducting toddler arrested in Fallon

FALLON - A Fallon woman with military training spotted the subject of an Amber Alert and notified police, leading to the alleged abductor's capture.

Fallon resident Lisa Garlington was driving on Highway 95 Wednesday at about 11 a.m. when she heard an Amber Alert about a Washington state toddler abducted by her father.

Five minutes later, Garlington, 29, saw a gold Ford truck at Maine and Center streets that matched the description broadcast on the radio. When the vehicle made a U-turn in the 100 block of Center Street and the driver gave her an odd look, Garlington's security training in the Air National Guard kicked in.

"I thought it was kind of odd," she said Wednesday morning shortly after suspect Ernesto Cuanas was taken into custody by Fallon police. "He wasn't acting like a normal person. It just didn't seem right."

Garlington, who works for the Churchill County Assessor's Office as an appraiser, said she followed the truck as Cuanas changed directions and appeared lost.

"I watched him and saw him walk into the thrift store with a little person, but I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl. I drove by and noticed a Washington license plate, and that's when I called dispatch," she said.

Garlington relayed her suspicions to a dispatcher at the Fallon Police Department. She told authorities the truck was parked on the south side of Stuf 'n Such thrift store.

Cuanas was booked into the Churchill County Jail on a warrant from Walla Walla County, Wash., accusing him of felony custodial interference and assault in the fourth degree - domestic violence. Fallon police also charged him with driving on a suspended or revoked driver's license and fictitious license plates. Cuanas is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Cliff Barnhouse was the first officer to arrive. The 2002 Ford F-150 pickup with a damaged passenger side matched a teletype police agencies throughout the West had received. Officers stopped Cuanas as he was backing out of his parking space. He was taken into custody

"I was really jazzed," Barnhouse said. "I've been thinking about him all morning. I was hoping to catch sight of him and the little girl. It's a good feeling that it all came together."

The Amber Alert was issued at 9:44 a.m. Wednesday. Police said Cuanas, 31, took Crystal Cuanas, who will turn 3 March 28, from her mother's home and fled. He reportedly called the girl's mother, Maria Soto, Wednesday morning from a Winnemucca public telephone. He asked to meet her in Oxnard, Calif., to discuss child custody issues.

Lt. Frank Shyne of the Fallon Police Department said Cuanas told Soto that Crystal had a broken arm when the Ford was rammed by a relative as Cuanas fled Washington with the girl.

Shyne said Cuanas stayed at the Park Motel in Winnemucca Tuesday night under the name of Ociano Rivera. He left the motel between 8:30-9 a.m. Wednesday.

Crystal is in the custody of Child and Family Services.

Soto is traveling to Fallon by bus to pick up her daughter, said Shyne.

The short time between the radio broadcast and Garlington's call to police proves the Amber Alert system is effective, said Shyne.

"It works very well. These children are being found quickly," he said.

Contact Marlene Garcia at mgarcia@lahontanvalleynews.com