Law enforcement officers safely recovered a missing 5-year-old Nevada girl and arrested a kidnapping suspect following a traffic stop in Palmdale, California, on June 1, 2026.
The rescue led to the cancellation of an Amber Alert issued earlier that day by the Carson City Sheriff's Office.
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Multi-Agency Operation
The multi-agency operation occurred around 2:15 p. m.
and involved the U. S.
Marshal’s Pacific Southwest Fugitive Task Force, the Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles Division, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Bureau.
Officials reported that the child, Amaya Meithof, was found unharmed at a residence near the traffic stop.
The suspect, 41-year-old Christopher Meithof, was taken into custody without incident at a nearby home.
According to the Carson City Sheriff's Office, the suspect was not inside the vehicle at the exact time of the recovery.
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Christopher Meithof is currently held at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Palmdale station awaiting extradition back to Nevada.
Palmdale Child Protective Services is facilitating the child's return to her mother.
Incident Timeline
The incident began early Sunday morning when Amaya Meithof was taken from a home near 2021 Lone Mountain Drive in Carson City, Nevada.
The child’s mother, Crystal Rose, informed Carson City deputies that she allowed Christopher Meithof to stay overnight and discovered both him and her daughter missing upon waking up.
A traffic camera first spotted the suspect driving a red 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Oregon license plate 576 QNU early Monday morning on U.
S. 395 near Clear Creek Road.
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Authorities initially broadcasted the Amber Alert across Southern California after receiving intelligence that the suspect was traveling toward the Quartz Hill area near Lancaster, located north of Los Angeles.
