Missing baby returned to family

PLANT CITY - A missing Plant City baby was found in neighboring Manatee County Tuesday afternoon, less than a day after an Amber Alert had been issued for the child.

Rosa Sirilo Francisco reported her 2-month-old daughter Sandra had been kidnapped from the Plant City Health Department office just before 8:30 p.m. Monday.

A woman claiming to be an immigration offical put the baby in her car and said she was going to Miami, Francisco said. That prompted officials to issue an Amber Alert.

It was around 2 p.m. Tuesday when investigators received a 911 call directing them to 60th Avenue W and 34th Street in Bradenton. There, a woman handed the baby over to deputies and turned herself in.

An hour later, police announced Sandra had been found alive and well.

"We're very relieved because so many times when an Amber Alert is issued, it does not end well. But the baby in this case is doing well and it's a great ending," Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dave Bristow said.

Detectives took Amaila Tabata Periera into custod,y and said she will be charged with false imprisonment and impersonating a federal officer.

"Right now motives are unclear. That is certainly something that we're focusing on, we're asking a lot of questions to try to get down to understand exactly what was going on and what might have been in this woman's mind," Plant City Police Chief Bill McDaniel said.

State records shed some light on Periera's background. She is an ex-con who has served 33 months in prison. She was previously arrested in Hillsborough County and charged with arson, forgery, burglary, and filing a false report for an incident that happened in Temple Terrace.

Investigators said Periera told them she is the wife of Pittsburgh Pirates minor league player Jose Tabata.

"We have received no indication that Jose is believed to have had any involvement in the matter," Pirates President Frank Coonelly said in a statement.