Christopher Maffei, 43 |
SAN FRANCISCO -- Two children allegedly abducted by their father in South San Francisco and whisked out to sea on a sailboat have been safely rescued.
Agents with the Coast Guard, FBI and South San Francisco police apprehended the boat in the waters off the Monterey Peninsula, and Christopher Maffei, 43, surrendered.
The boat was being navigated by Maffei with his children -- Devin, 2, and Brooklyn, 3 -- on board.
Investigators said Maffei, the former boyfriend and partner of the children's mother, abducted his children Tuesday.
Authorities allege that Maffei drove a rented Ford Fusion to an Alameda marina where he took the boat, named Unleashed. It was not clear where he borrowed or stole the vessel.
Maffei headed south down the coast, with authorities giving chase. They had feared that Maffei may have been headed to Mexico.
"I am afraid for my children's lives," Jennifer Hipon, the children's mother, told CNN affiliate KPIX.
On Wednesday, Maffei's rental car was found in the parking lot of the same Alameda marina where a 44-foot sailboat named 'Unleashed' had been stolen, police said.
Officers also learned that two weeks earlier Maffei and the children had visited the owner of the sailboat and inspected the vessel to inquire about buying it.
Agents with the Coast Guard, FBI and South San Francisco police apprehended the boat in the waters off the Monterey Peninsula, and Christopher Maffei, 43, surrendered.
The boat was being navigated by Maffei with his children -- Devin, 2, and Brooklyn, 3 -- on board.
Investigators said Maffei, the former boyfriend and partner of the children's mother, abducted his children Tuesday.
Authorities allege that Maffei drove a rented Ford Fusion to an Alameda marina where he took the boat, named Unleashed. It was not clear where he borrowed or stole the vessel.
Maffei headed south down the coast, with authorities giving chase. They had feared that Maffei may have been headed to Mexico.
"I am afraid for my children's lives," Jennifer Hipon, the children's mother, told CNN affiliate KPIX.
On Wednesday, Maffei's rental car was found in the parking lot of the same Alameda marina where a 44-foot sailboat named 'Unleashed' had been stolen, police said.
Officers also learned that two weeks earlier Maffei and the children had visited the owner of the sailboat and inspected the vessel to inquire about buying it.
