After five harrowing months, a South Salt Lake mother was finally able to put her arms around four of her children Friday. But the reunion was not quite complete.
A fifth child, an 8-year-old, is still missing in Jalisco, a Mexican state of 6.4 million people, and a 15-year-old daughter was not on the same flight as her siblings because of immigration issues.
The scene at the Salt Lake City International Airport Friday night was one of relieved tears.
Gloria Benitez hugged her children, Genaro Jr., 17, twins Veronica and Gloria, 10, and Jaqueline, 5, in front of a crowd of people waiting for a returned LDS missionary.
One woman in the nearby crowd said she got goosebumps on seeing Benitez reunite with her four children. The youngsters were taken to Mexico by their father when he failed to return them to Benitez after a visit.
In February, Genaro Solorzano, 41, showed up at Benitez's house for a regular visit with the divorced couple's children, of whom Benitez has custody.
But when Solorzano didn't come back at the appointed time, Benitez began to fear for her children, said Capt. Chris Snyder, South Salt Lake police spokesman.
Early on, investigators guessed Solorzano had fled to Mexico, where he has family and friends, Snyder said. And eventually, a warrant was issued for Solorzano's arrest for child kidnapping, a first-degree felony that sets his bail at $50,000 if he's caught.
Detectives contacted the FBI, and with the police department's victim advocate, Gina Bellazetin, they contacted the Mexican consulate and other Mexican authorities to find Solorzano.
Bellazetin noted that working across borders made the case particularly difficult because Mexico and the United States do not have comparable government agencies.
But their efforts led to Benitez's reunion Friday with four of her children, all born in the United States.
Even though detectives are frustrated that Solorzano was able to elude Mexican authorities, they also realize the case couldn't have come this far without the help from south of the border, Snyder said.
"They've done a fantastic job helping us out," he said.
Solorzano is still on the run with 8-year-old son Benjamin, Snyder said.
Benitez is pretty upset, he said, because Benjamin requires medication, and she has no way of knowing if he is getting it.
"She's still worried about his welfare," Snyder said.
Detectives plan to interview the children who came home, he said. They want to know if the children can provide any clues as to where they were or where Solorzano may have fled with Benjamin.
Solorzano also has family in California, Snyder said.
But they want Benitez to have a chance to savor being reunited with her children, which is why Benitez requested that no media interviews take place as she greeted her children.
Snyder said Bellazetin deserves much of the credit for the children's return because of her tireless efforts as a part-time victims advocate with the police department. He said she used her connections and tenacity to follow up with Mexican authorities to keep them on the case.
She was recently promoted to a full-time position — one of two victims advocates with South Salt Lake police.
"She was integral for this whole thing to happen," he said.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com