(HLNtv.com) — Two suspects are in custody after Ayvani Perez, the 14-year-old girl who was abducted during a home invasion in Georgia, was found alive on Wednesday, Clayton County Police Chief Gregory Porter said.
“This is a good day for the Perez family, but more importantly for Ayvani. She is safe,” Porter said.
He did not go into much detail about the case because the investigation remains active, but he said Perez was held in metro Atlanta and later recovered at a location in Conyers, Georgia.
Porter went on to say Perez was “in good health” and with her family.
Rick Maxwell, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta office, said the two men in custody are Juan Alberto Contreras-Rodriguez, a 40-year-old Mexican national being held on immigration-related charges, and Wildrego Jackson, a 29-year-old Atlanta man being held on charges of conspiracy to kidnap.
Maxwell said authorities have not yet determined a motive for Perez’s abduction. He said additional suspects may still be at large, including the two men pictured in sketches sent out earlier by the FBI.
The teen had been missing since early Tuesday morning. Police told HLN on Tuesday that two armed men pried open the family’s back door around 2:15 a.m. ET.
Perez’s mother told investigators she tried to hide her two children, but the gunman found them and demanded money and jewelry.
Police say the two men shot the family dog — who survived — and abducted Perez after the family failed to meet their demands.
The Clayton County Police Department asks anyone with information about the two suspects who remain at large to call 678-610-4781.
