Kidnapped baby returned
Published: January 10, 2005
The Whitesboro Police Department had their hands full Wednesday investigating the kidnapping of a seven and a half month old infant, who was eventually recovered and returned to her legal guardian late Wednesday evening.
Neither parent was the legal guardian over the child since it was three weeks old. The maternal grandmother of the infant is custodial guardian of the infant girl.
The 15 to 16 hour ordeal of Sharon Dubois, the grandmother ended on a happy note when the mother, Megan Andujo surrendered the infant to authorities Wednesday night.
Sergeant Danny Phelps of the Whitesboro police department said that the father, James Andujo was suspected to be the main perpetrator and the mother’s involvement is still under investigation.
The child was taken from the residence of the grandmother while she was at work.
Phelps said, “The parents of the child took the child from the grandmother and took food, clothes, everything while the grandmother was at work.” He said Megan was staying with the infant at the Dubois’ residence at the time of the kidnapping.
He said, “We are still trying to determine at this time if the mother was under duress and was involved in helping take the child.”
The father, James Andujo, was released from the Cooke County jail on Dec. 22. The police spokesman said Megan currently has protective order against James and he is not supposed to come near the mother and child and their residence or anything.
The Whitesboro Police Department talked with the mother and father over the phone periodically within the final five hours of the search trying to pinpoint the couple’s location so the police could retrieve the infant. The police felt the infant was possibly in a dangerous situation at the time, according to Phelps. He said they also talked with friends and family members in their attempts to locate the infant and her parents.
Phelps said they finally convinced the mother to bring the child to them but not after hearing various stories from the mother as she went from a “No I’m not,” to “I don’t have to,” to “how can I do this without getting in trouble,” according to the sergeant.
The Whitesboro police convinced the mother to meet them at a friends house to turn the infant over to the authorities around 8 p.m. that night at one of her friend’s home in Gainesville.
The police wanted the father to be present at the retrieval of the infant so they could detain him on charges of violating his protective order and interfering with the custody of the child, which is a felony Phelps said. But he was not.
When talking to the father, James Andujo, Phelps said “he was just afraid he would never get to see his child again.”
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