Boy taken from North Las Vegas found unharmed in Riverside, CA

A local boy reported missing over the weekend was found Monday in Riverside, California and the man accused of taking him is in police custody. A traffic stop by California Highway Patrol led to the boy being found.

Police say 9-year-old Patrick Rimsey, Jr. is in good health and was not harmed. News 3's Maria Silva has reaction from the young boy's family.

"She says 'Mom, they found him!' I said 'Where?' "He's okay, they found him in California.'"

It was news about her grandson Marjorie Finks had been anxiously awaiting. "I never thought we would go through this... you see kids missing, you're like wow," Finks said.

The call from her daughter came Monday morning letting her know Patrick was in the custody of southern California authorities and not in the hands of the man accused of taking him: 19-year-old Farid Bermejo.

"Common sense he would have brought him back home, but he didn't, he took him on joy ride took him to California," Finks explains.

Finks says the ordeal began on Saturday evening when Patrick, who was spending the night at the home of his paternal grandmother while his mother was out of town, did not come home. "He's a good kid. He doesn't do things out of the ordinary, so this was really shocking," Finks said.

The family was under the impression an Amber Alert had been issued. But North Las Vegas Police say an Amber Alert was never issued. While they felt the child was in some sort of danger, that danger did not meet the strict criteria set and did not warrant an activation of an Amber Alert. Even so, the family's praising the quick work of both local police and California authorities

Finks says she's been in contact with Bermejo's family who lives just a few houses down. "They don't have any idea why he would do it," Finks said, "it was a shock to them for him to do that." And Finks says Bermejo's family has cooperated with police.

This case remains under investigation. North Las Vegas Police tell us they're not ready to call it a kidnapping. It will be a few days before they know what charges Bermejo will face and when he'll be brought back to southern Nevada.