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Child abducted by dad last summer found unharmed
Father arrested in kidnapping
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Pioquinto Carranza, 37, of Modesto, is arrested by Ceres Police for an August abduction of his son. - photo by Courtesy of Ceres Police

The Ceres Police Department's SWAT team helped reunite a two-year-old boy with his mother after they found him with his south Modesto father who has been charged with kidnapping him last August.

Ceres detectives followed up on an anonymous tip that Pioquinto Carranza, 37, of Modesto, was hiding Kayden Carranza, 2, at a home in the 1200 block of Alamo Avenue in south Modesto. The boy was abducted from his mother on August 30, 2016 at the Stanislaus County Social Services Building, 251 E. Hackett Road.

At 2:03 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, detectives and SWAT team officers converged on the house and found the boy unharmed. They arrested Carranza and booked him for child abduction and for an outstanding warrant issued by Modesto Police.

The child was released to Child Protective Services and was later reunited with his mother.

Carranza had lost custody of the child after police served a search warrant at his Ceres home in December 2015 and found guns and drugs. CPS initiated the removal, said Ceres Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jose Berber.

Evidence in the case indicated that the encounter between Carranza and the boy's mother at the Stanislaus County Social Services Building was coincidental. Carranza convinced her to allow him to visit the child. Carranza removed the child from the lobby and left the area.

After countless hours of investigation, detectives confirmed the child was at the Alamo address. Armed with a search warrant, detectives and the SWAT Team entered the property taking the two-year-old into custody. Carranza was cooperative with police and taken into custody.

Sgt. Berber said detectives were appreciative to the community members who provided the tips leading them to the child.

"The community's involvement was key in returning Kayden safely back to his family."