COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — For the first time, the Colorado Springs family of 2-year-old Geovani Salazar-President, who was found safe in the backseat of a stolen car last week, is speaking out.
The incident occurred around 3 p.m. Tuesday at King Street Apartments near N. 30th and Uintah streets.
According to CSPD, they found the SUV about two hours later, abandoned near downtown Colorado Springs. Geovani was found safe in the backseat.
No arrests were made, and CSPD says they are still piecing together information about the suspect.
In a statement, the family of Geovani expressed deep gratitude for the community’s support and thanked CSPD for safely locating him.
“We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from our community, and the quick response by the Colorado Springs Police Department to quickly locate Geovani safe and sound. At this time, our family is fully cooperating and working closely with law enforcement to locate the suspect in this case. In the meantime, our sole focus is the health and well-being of our little boy. We are deeply grateful for all the support, concern, and well wishes that have been expressed.
While we understand the public curiosity and media requests around this incident, we respectfully ask for privacy during this difficult and emotional time. Continued media attention is only making this process more stressful and adding further strain on our family as we focus on healing.
As law enforcement conducts the investigation, they will share any updates, if and when appropriate, through official channels. We will not be speaking with the media.
Thank you for your understanding, compassion, and respect."
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez held a press conference on Wednesday to show the community how technology helped bring Salazar-President back to safety.
He and District Attorney Michael Allen are raising concerns that this type of police work could be limited by proposed legislation at the Colorado State Capitol.
If two bills regarding these concerns are passed, there could be restrictions on high-tech police work, including sharing pictures like the one of the stolen SUV between agencies.
If you have any information regarding a potential suspect, please call CSPD at (719) 444-7000. If you want to remain anonymous, you can call Pikes Peak Crime Stoppers at (719)634-7867.
