Amber Alert continues for Plant City baby

PLANT CITY - An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing 2-month-old baby, and now investigators have named a person of interest in the case.

Plant City police say Sandra Cruz-Francisco's mother reported her daughter had been kidnapped from the Plant City Health Department office in the 200 block of N. Michigan Avenue just before 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Sandra is 22 inches tall, weighs 10 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing pink pants, a pink shirt, and pink socks.

"This case is of the highest priority for the police department," Captain Darrell Wilson said. "We're using all of the resources we have available such as the police department itself, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and Tampa Police Department."

Detectives say the person who kidnapped Sandra is described as a Hispanic and/or possibly white female, approximately 30 years old, approximately 5-foot-10 with a thin build. She has blue eyes, shoulder length black hair, and was last seen wearing blue denim jeans, black long sleeve shirt and white tennis shoes.

Police believe the suspect's first name is Janet. She was last seen leaving with the baby in a blue Chrysler smaller four-door vehicle, and detectives said she's possibly headed to Miami.

"There was a conversation between the mother and Janet, and somehow the child was exchanged," Captain Wilson said during a news conference Tuesday morning.

Investigators said the mother told them she didn't know the suspect, but she knew her first name was Janet.

This afternoon, police identified Amaila Tabata Pereira as a person of interest in the case. Pereira, 43, also goes by the names Amalia Rivera, Amalia Segui, and Amalia Maldonado.

"Pereira is only considered a person of interest," investigators emphasized.

The police department is expected to hold another news conference at 3 p.m.

If you have any information about Sandra Cruz-Francisco's whereabouts, call the Plant City Police Department at (813) 757-9200 or 911.