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Missing Juvenile Recovered Safely After Pursuit

May 6, 2020

King County: At approximately 6:30pm on May 5, 2020, Trooper Mosqueda stopped a Ford F-150 NB I-405 near SR 520 for speeding.

Upon contact, Trooper Mosqueda observed a young child in the back seat and asked the driver for his ID which he provided. Trooper Mosqueda went back to his patrol car and ran a check on the driver and the registration and observed there was a Protection Order against him involving a young child.  At this point, the driver of the F-150 took off and a pursuit ensued leading troopers NB I-405 to NB I-5. The pursuit continued north where the driver collided with a trailer NB I-5 near 88th in Snohomish County and continued. The pursuit continued on county roads and was brought to an end after spike strips were deployed successfully and a PIT maneuver was used near Cedardale Road and Starbird Road in Skagit County.

The driver was arrested without incident and the juvenile recovered unharmed but upset. Troopers confirmed that this was the missing 4 year old girl and were able to speak to the child’s mother in New Mexico. The driver, who is the father of the child had driven to New Mexico and took the child in violation of a Protection Order.  The child was released to her grandmother here locally in Washington pending being reunited with her mother.

The driver was Mauricio A Nava-Tapia who is a 26 year old male from Stanwood, Washington.  He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail on charges of Felony Eluding, Reckless Endangerment, Reckless Driving and Hit and Run.

The length of this pursuit was 52 miles and spanned three counties.  The Washington State Patrol would like to extend our gratitude for all the agencies that assisted in various roles throughout this incident. This teamwork made it possible to bring this incident to an end with no injuries!

 

 

 

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