Abducted Kansas Infant Found in Dallas After Mother's Murder

Thursday, an intruder kidnapped six-day-old Sophia Gonzalez and killed her mother, Laura Abarca, in Wichita, Kansas. Early Saturday morning, a Dallas Police SWAT unit found Gonzalez and made two arrests at a Dallas home. Abarca's boyfriend found her body after getting home from work just before 4 p.m. Thursday and...

By Stephen Young

November 21, 2016

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Thursday, an intruder kidnapped six-day-old Sophia Gonzalez and killed her mother, Laura Abarca, in Wichita, Kansas. Early Saturday morning, a Dallas Police SWAT unit found Gonzalez and made two arrests at a Dallas home.

Abarca's boyfriend found her body after getting home from work just before 4 p.m. Thursday and immediately informed police about the shooting and Gonzalez' abduction, Wichita police said.

According to DPD, the FBI asked the department's Child Exploitation Unit to help in the investigation into Gonzalez' disappearance based on a tip from the Wichita Police Department.

"Baby Sophia is currently in protective custody and is doing well," Ramsey said. "Family has been notified and we are working to reunite them as soon as possible. ... We can't forget that this is the best possible outcome to a very sad case."

Investigators from Wichita are currently in Dallas questioning the two people arrested Saturday morning, Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said at a Saturday press conference. Ramsey declined to disclose the identities of those arrested, citing an ongoing investigation, but did say that they knew Abarca.

Dallas police say the infant was unharmed but they took her to Children's Medical Center as a precaution.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Dallas Observer has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.