Amber Alert
Canceled Saturday, March 15.

Mariela Garcia
12 Yrs., 5', 140 lbs., Hispanic female with black hair and brown eyes. Abducted from from her Richmond, Calif., school by by Marcelino Benitez.




She was last seen wearing a white top, blue jeans and possibly a blue jacket. Marcelino Benitez is Filipino, 44 yrs., 5' 8", 160 lbs. with brown hair, brown eyes and glasses.

The suspect was arrested by the California Highway Patrol around midnight after an East Los Angeles resident saw the car described in Amber Alert messages broadcast across the state, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.

Marcelino Benitez, suspected of abducting 12-year-old Mariela Garcia near Richmond on Tuesday, may have been headed to Mexico, authorities had said shortly after issuing the Amber Alert Thursday night.

Mariela was dropped off at Helms Middle School around 8 a.m. on March 11 and never showed up to class.

Her foster family reported her missing more than 24 hours later, around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.

Lee said it remains unknown why they didn't make the report earlier.

The girl was last seen in a Datsun 200ZX with Benitez, who is described by authorities as an "associate'' of the girl's biological family, according to Lee.

"He might have enticed her to leave with him,'' he said. "There's no way a 12-year-old girl would volunteer to go with a 44-year-old man.''

Lee said the girl had known Benitez for some time, adding that the nature of their relationship remains unclear.

Anyone with information please call the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department at (925) 646-2441.