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Abducted Ga. teen found alive; 2 suspects arrested

Doug Stanglin
USA TODAY
Ayvani Hope Perez, 14, was found and reunited with her family after she was abducted from her home during a robbery early Sept. 17, 2013, in Ellenwood, Ga.
  • Ayvani Hope Perez was taken from her home by two armed intruders
  • A prayer vigil was held at the middle school that Ayvani attended
  • The gunmen shot the family dog and fled with the teen when her mother said she had no valuables

A 14-year-old Georgia girl abducted from her home near Atlanta two days ago was found alive on Wednesday and two suspects were taken into custody. Authorities said at least two more suspects — including those depicted in a police sketch — remained at large.

The girl, Ayvani Hope Perez, was taken to a local hospital for observation and was reunited with her family.

"She is in good health," Clayton County Police Chief Gregory Porter told reporters at a news briefing.

Ayvani was taken from her home in Ellenwood, Ga., about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday by two masked men who demanded jewelry and money. She was dropped off by the abductors in Conyers, Ga., and picked up by police, according to authorities. Conyers is about 25 miles from Ayvani's Clayton County home.

Wildrego Jackson, 29, is shown in a mug shot following his arrest in June 2013. He was taken into custody Sept. 18, 2013, during an investigation of the abduction of 14-year-old Ayvani Perez of Ellenwood, Ga.

One of the suspects arrested, Wildrego Jackson, 29, of Atlanta faces a federal charge of conspiracy to kidnap. Officials described him as a career felon.

The police chief also said Juan Alberto Contreras-Rodriguez, 40, a Mexican national, was arrested on immigration-related charges.

Porter did not elaborate further.

Authorities were tight-lipped about the case, saying that they did not want to jeopardize their efforts to round up other suspects. FBI agent Rick Maxwell said only that the two suspects were arrested without incident.

He added that the two suspects shown in a widely circulated sketch by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation "are still at large."

Police said they have not determined any relationship between Ayvani and the men who abducted her.

Two armed intruders, who were initially looking for money and jewelry, demanded $10,000 ransom, TheAtlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday. NBC News reported that the kidnappers later raised their ransom demand to $100,000.

Sketches released by the Clayton County Police Department shows two men suspected of abdutcing Ayvani Hope Perez, 14, during a home invasion in Jonesboro, Ga.

A statewide AMBER Alert had been issued for Ayvani. The FBI also joined the investigation.

Clayton County Officer Phong Nguyen said the robbers pried open a back door to gain entry to the home. Ayvani's mother, Maria Magdalena Corral Perez, tried to hide her daughter, 15-year-old son and a poodle, but the gunmen found them. After their mother said she had no valuables, one gunman shot and wounded the dog and fled with Ayvani. The dog was taken to a vet but did not survive.

The Journal-Constitution quoted Nguyen as saying that the victims and the gunmen did not appear to know each other. He said the family moved in about a month ago.

WXIA-TV reported that drug-trafficking charges against the mother were dropped shortly after she and four others were arrested in February 2012, in Henry County.

Ayvani's aunt, Suky Guerrero, had told the Journal-Constitution on Tuesday that family members were trying to get the money together to secure the teen's release. The newspaper confirmed the ransom demand with a law enforcement official close to the investigation who was unauthorized to speak publicly.

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