ABILENE, Texas, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A 1-month-old girl abducted from her mother's minivan at an Abilene parking lot was safely recovered Wednesday and reunited a few hours later with her thankful parents in the West Texas town.
Nancy Crystal Chavez was found when a woman driving a car matching the description of one used in the abduction was stopped near Quanah, about 120 miles north of Abilene. The baby was in good condition and a footprint from her birth records identified her.
"I praise the Lord," said her mother, Margarita Chavez. "I'm so thankful."
Chavez thanked all the law officers and others who help find her missing daughter in less than 24 hours and especially a 13-year-old boy who tried to stop the abductor's car as it fled a Wal-Mart Super Center parking lot.
"He was the first to try to save my baby," she said, seated at a news conference with her husband, Salvador, an Abilene school janitor.
Chavez, who had a bandaged arm and scars on her face from grabbing the fleeing car, said she trusted in the Lord that she would get her child back.
Asked about the suspect, she said, "I would ask God to bless her and help her."
Paula Lynn Roach, 24, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and she could receive a life prison sentence if she is convicted.
Nancy is in "very good health," according to police Sgt. Kim Vickers.
The Amber Alert System was used to get out descriptions quickly after the abduction Tuesday afternoon. Gov. Rick Perry earlier this week announced the program created five years ago in the Dallas-Fort Worth area would go statewide.
Margarita Chavez had finished shopping at the Wal-Mart about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday with her three children. She seated the children in the van, left a sliding door open because it was hot, and walked a few feet away to park a shopping cart in a bin.
When she turned around, Chavez saw a woman grab Nancy from the van and begin to drive away. She began screaming and chasing the fleeing car, grabbing hold of the door to try to rescue her child. She was dragged 30 to 40 feet before she let go.
A surveillance video camera captured Chavez's attempt to stop the fleeing car and disclosed the suspect car had been circling the parking lot for several minutes prior to the abduction.
