Wednesday, August 23, 2023 7:00PM
JACKSON HEIGHTS, Queens (WABC) — A 75-year-old man and the mother of the 5-year-old girl who went missing in Queens on Tuesday, sparking a frantic hours-long search, are now facing charges.
Kimberly Pijuan, 30, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, police said on Wednesday.
Police also announced that the 75-year-old suspect who was seen with the child on surveillance video is facing charges of kidnapping, injurious/abuse sexually motivated criminal sexual act first degree victim under 11, unlawful imprisonment and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17 years old.
It all unfolded when the child was at a Foodtown Supermarket at 76-10 37th Ave. with her mother around 9 a.m.
Her mother told police a casual friend saw them in the supermarket and said her daughter wanted to go to the park, so she agreed to let the 75-year-old man take her.
But by 1 p.m., the man did not return with the girl and they weren’t in the park. That’s when the mother called police to report her daughter missing.
An intense search ensued with dozens of officers fanning out across Jackson Heights, equipped with a Bloodhound seen getting a whiff of a pink blanket to follow the scent.
Police said the girl was found after 4:30 p.m. at the subway station at 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, after a good Samaritan flagged down an officer when he saw the child and man on a platform.
It was only a few blocks from the supermarket and the park.
Police scooped up the 5-year-old girl, who appeared bewildered but unharmed.
The 75-year-old man was handcuffed and taken into custody at the 115th Precinct, where he was questioned Tuesday night.
Police say the man and the mother were not exactly close friends. They say they had only known each other for about a month.
ALSO READ | 3-year-old shot, gunman dead after hours-long police standoff
———-
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
Copyright © 2023 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.
