The kidnapping of two children from Abington, Massachusetts sparked an Amber Alert Thursday afternoon. The two children were found safe later in the day in Yarmouth, Massachusetts and police have arrested the children’s mother in relation to the kidnapping. 7 year old Nathalia Portela Coelho and her 8 year old brother Nathan Portela Coelho were abruptly taken from their home Thursday morning by their mother after she impersonated police to enter the property where the children live with their father.
According to preliminary reports released from responding officers, the Abington police department received a phone call at approximately 9:00 AM Thursday morning alerting them of the ongoing situation. The father of Nathalia and Nathan reported that the mother of his children, Bruna Gomes, knocked on the door and declared “Abington Police, open the door,” before pepper spraying the caretaker who answered the door and forcefully letting herself inside the residence at 94 Walnut Street. After making her way inside the apartment, Bruna Gomes physically extracted her two children from the premise and fled the scene. Following the report of the kidnapping, Abington Police issued an Amber Alert detailing the vehicle Gomes was driving. Police asked for individuals across Massachusetts to be on the lookout for a blue, 2007 Nissan Quest minivan with a Massachusetts license plate reading: 985TM9.
After issuing the Amber Alert, Abington police were able to follow Gomes via the GPS tracker in her phone. They were able to follow her to an undisclosed Yarmouth hotel—but upon entering the area, police were unable to find Gomes or her vehicle. Sometime later, at around 1:43 PM, officers on the lookout for Bruna Gomes spotted a woman driving a blue van that matched the description for the vehicle in question and began to pursue the van down Route 28 near Higgins Road in Cromwell. The responding officers lost sight of the van, however, due to the heavy traffic that had developed in the area.
Following this second attempt at capturing Bruna Gomes and reuniting her children with their father, police received a call from an employee for the Econolodge located in Yarmouth, Massachusetts reporting that a blue van matching the description on the Amber Alert was in their parking lot and that Gomes had rented a room at the motel. Police entered the premise shortly after and removed Nathan and Nathalia, as well as a third unidentified infant who had not been included in the Amber Alert when it was issued. Additional information on the child has not been made available at this time.
After safely reuniting the children with their father, police officers placed Bruna Gomes under arrest and awarded full custody of the children to their father. Bruna Gomes was released on $25,000 cash bail and has been given a court date in early September to face charges in relation to the kidnapping. Those charges currently include parental kidnapping, breaking and entering, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon for the pepper spray she used on the caretaker that opened the door at the Walnut Street residence earlier in the day.
Additional information may be found at the following link: http://www.whdh.com/story/29727570/abington-mother-accused-of-kidnapping-children-faces-charges