Teen's Escape
The search for a suspect that abducted a Manatee County boy last week continues, but the talk across the Tampa area is about 13-year-old Clay Moore's escape after his abduction and the farm worker who found himself at the right place at the right time.
Leonelle Mendoza finds himself in the spotlight this week. He's the farm worker who found kidnap victim Clay Moore wandering on an east Manatee County road Friday afternoon.
Mendoza spoke with our affiliate station, Bay News 9, saying at the time he had no idea Moore had just freed himself from his kidnappers bindings.
Once told about what he had done, he says he was relieved that he had found the boy.
Over at the Manatee School for the Arts, Clay Moore was not in attendance Monday. His ordeal was the talk of the classroom, especially his heroic escape, using a safety pin to help cut the tape that bound him.
"It was good thing he had the safety pin on him or he'd be in trouble," said Amanda Fishman.
Clay took martial arts at the school, instructor Ken Ellis says it appeared Clay applied what he had learned.
"I've seen some amazing results with some of the our students, not only does it help protect them in a situation like this. Which hopefully is pretty rare, but it helps in a lot of other ways as well," said Ellis.
So while Clay Moore recuperates, the farmer who helped him back to safety carries on with his work and classmates get ready to welcome their 13-year-old classmate back to school.
"We're probably going to go over to him and say welcome back. Good thing you're safe," added Fishman.
The principal says Clay Moore should be back at school later this week.
Now, as far as students' school bus stop concerns, school district leaders are well aware of their situation. They're having meetings this week to address this issue.
We also talked with the alleged kidnapper's employer. He said the suspect, Vicente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno, 22, worked for him for two-years and was a good employee.
Arrest Warrant Issued
Manatee County authorities say an arrest warrant was issued for the man suspected of kidnapping a 13-year-old-boy from a bus stop Friday and that the crime was motivated by money.
They identified the suspect as Vicente Ignacio Beltran Moreno and say he used to work at a farm near where Clay Moore was held.
After serving several search warrants early this morning, deputies were able to gather enough evidence for an arrest warrant, Sheriff Charlie Wells said. Wells said they also found a detailed ransom note and the red truck used in the abduction in the vicinity of Moreno's empty rental home.
"This was an absolute kidnap for ransom," Wells said. "We have concluded that this was an out-and-out kidnapping, and that person wanted money for Clay Moore." Wells also said it looked like Moore was taken randomly.
The boy is safe, after making what authorities call a "miraculous" escape. Wells praised his resourcefulness in both his escape and in observations of his abductor.
Deputies said Clay Moore was abducted at gun point Friday from his school bus stop on Old Tampa Road in the Kingsfield Lake subdivision, which is in the town of Parrish.
Authorities say he then drove the boy to some woods about 20 miles away and tied him up. Moore was able to free himself and called for help using a farm worker’s cell phone.
A group of Lincoln Middle School and Manatee School of the Arts students witnessed the abduction. They said they were waiting at the bus stop when a man in a pickup truck drove up and pointed a gun at Moore’s head before forcing him into the bed of the truck.
About four hours later, Moore called his mother from a cell phone after someone found him walking about 20 miles from the bus stop.
The sheriff's office said Moore told them the man took him to a thickly wooded area and tied his hand and feet to a tree. After being left alone, Moore managed to free himself using his teeth and a safety pin and escaped. He wasn't hurt except for some minor scrapes and scratches.
"We feel fortunate anytime somebody's abducted and we're able to bring them back and they're healthy and uninjured and alive, you feel very fortunate because as many times as we see across this nation that's not the case, so we feel blessed," Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells said.
The sheriff's office has released a composite sketch of the suspect in the case. He's described by the sheriff's office as a man with short dark hair, dark mustache, 5-foot-6 inches tall.
Deputies say they were led to the identity of the suspect after talking to former co-workers and they say they found the truck used in the abduction at Beltran-Moreno's house. Police believe Beltran-Moreno has left the state.
Anyone with any information on Moreno should call the Manatee County Sheriff's Office or 911.