Kidnapped California Girl Missing for 6 Years Found Safe in Phoenix

(July 15) -- A missing California girl who was abducted from her foster family nearly seven years ago was found safe in a home in Phoenix, police said.

Amber Nicklas, now 7, was a toddler when three of her biological aunts allegedly kidnapped her from a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Norwalk, Calif., in 2003 during a custodial visit.

L.A. girl, 7, kidnapped in 2003, found safe in Arizona

www.findthechildren.com

Amber Nicklas, a Los Angeles girl who was allegedly kidnapped by three aunts in 2003, has been found safe in Phoenix.

On Wednesday, police said they found her in Phoenix, where a woman tried to hide the little girl in the bathroom shower under clothes and blankets, The Arizona Republic reported. The girl was apparently not related to anyone in the home.

After confirming her identity with DNA swabs and by matching her footprint to her birth certificate, police took Nicklas back to California, where she is in the custody of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, according to an Associated Press report.

The 7-year-old was living in Arizona under a new name. Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said she had not been going to school.

"The child was in good physical condition -- however, very frightened about today's events. She had also been withheld from schooling," Crump told CNN.

Two of the child's aunts have been arrested, but a third hasn't been found. All three were teenagers when they allegedly kidnapped their niece.