Missing North Las Vegas toddler found unharmed, two in custody

A missing toddler taken in a car from a North Las Vegas home Friday night was brought to a police station Saturday morning, following a multiagency investigation that resulted in two arrests, according to North Las Vegas police.

Anastasia Barletta was unharmed when she was returned by a “third party” at about 11:15 a.m. Saturday, police spokeswoman Ann Cavaricci said. She was reunited with a family member at the police station, she said.

The 22-month-old toddler had been last seen at her family’s home in the area of Craig Road and Allen Lane about 11:45 p.m. Friday night and was missing for about 12 hours. North Las Vegas police worked with the Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada Highway Patrol, Clark County School District police and the FBI.

The third party, identified by police only as an individual whom police believe did not know the child, returned Barletta to the police department’s Northwest Area Command, located on West Washburn Road and Allen Lane, Cavaricci said.

In a phone interview with the Review-Journal, Joseph Carr, a neighbor, said he heard a woman crying and yelling about midnight Friday while he was visiting a friend in the neighborhood. Carr said he saw the girl’s mother sitting on the ground outside of a house on Oak Bay, bleeding from the mouth.

Another man was with her and had already called police. The front door of the family’s home was open, and Carr went inside to look around. He did not see anyone, he said.

When police arrived, Carr told them about seeing a blue Honda, mentioned in an Amber Alert issued after the toddler’s disappearance, leave the residence earlier. The car belongs to the family, Cavaricci said.

Cavaricci said the two suspects “were not well-known” to the mother and likely just met for the first time Friday night.

It is unknown if the child was taken intentionally or just happened to be in the 2007 Honda at the time it was taken, police said.

The mother of the child, identified as Mistery Barletta by friends and family on Facebook, was taken to a hospital, and “did appear to be impaired,” Cavaricci said. The mother has since been released, she said. It is unclear how she sustained her injuries, and she is being interviewed by detectives, Cavaricci said.

Police had been looking for a white woman and black man in their mid-20s to early 30s. The woman was described as having short pink hair and the man is tall and thin, with a thin mustache and short to no hair. The pair, who are not known to the family, are in custody, Cavaricci said. Their identities have not yet been released.

Believing that the two suspects were on foot in the area, officers “fanned out” from the command center, and the two were taken into custody “without incident” Saturday morning in the area of Ann Road and North Simmons Street, about 10 minutes after Barletta was returned.

The investigation was “really a large, coordinated effort,” Cavaricci said. She added she was grateful to the FBI agents involved for offering their resources to police, though she could not go into detail on the methodology the agents used in the case.

Cavaricci also credited the Amber Alert as a “huge factor” and expressed gratitude for the unnamed third party, who is not facing charges in this case. Police are questioning that third party to determine exactly how the child was brought to them and the party’s relationship with the two suspects.

“This is a very unique case,” Cavaricci said. “There are a lot of questions our detectives need to answer.”

Review-Journal photographer Brett Le Blanc contributed to this story. Contact Christian Bertolaccini at cbertolaccini@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find @bertolaccinic on Twitter. Contact Lawren Linehan at llinehan@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0381. Follow @lawrenlinehan on Twitter.