Abduction in Phillips

BY ED FELIEN

Acting on an anonymous tip, police found 8-month-old Carlos Orozco after a four-hour search in the basement of a home in the 3700 block of 3rd Avenue South.

Authorities allege Isabel Diaz Castillo had befriended the boy’s mother, then took the child when the mother was in the bathroom taking a shower in her home on Portland Avenue near Franklin on Wednesday, Feb 20.

According to the police complaint, Castillo met Orozco at a laundromat and was an occasional visitor in her home. She was going to come by Orozco’s apartment to lend her some money. Orozco told her she was going to take a shower. When she came out of the shower the baby was gone. Police located Castillo’s boyfriend and while they were talking with him, his sister called and said Castillo had come by her house with a baby. At about 3:45, someone who had seen the Amber Alert spotted Castillo’s car. Police found Castillo’s car and, after searching her brother’s house, found her holding the child in the basement.

She faces up to four years in prison on the kidnapping charge. A public defender, Matthew Jaimet, has been appointed to represent her. Bail was set at $100,000 due to immigration issues. Her next court date is set for March 26. If she has entered the country illegally she will go to trial, serve her sentence if found guilty, and then be deported.