Explorer Scouts Lead Police to Kidnaped Baby : Routine Duty Gives Rescuers a Thrill

For Explorer Scouts Richard Desbien and Marie Ponce, the thrill of helping with the arrest of a suspect in a child kidnaping case Thursday night was both unforgettable and unexpected.

“Usually, we just knock on a lot of doors in a missing child case, and we don’t find anything because someone else returns the child,” said Ponce. “But this is the first time we actually helped find one.”

Several hours after 14-month-old Victoria Marie Clark was reported missing from a crib at the Young Horizons day-care center in Garden Grove, Desbien, Ponce and five other Explorers affiliated with the Garden Grove Police Department were asked to conduct a door-to-door search of the immediate neighborhood.

Police had given them photographs of the missing child and a composite sketch of the suspect, instructing them to ask people whether they had seen the baby girl or her alleged abductor.

“It was very late, about 10:30 p.m., and we had knocked on a lot of doors with no result,” said Desbien, a 17-year-old student at Garden Grove High. “Then we found something pretty important.”

After a quick look at the photographs, one neighbor, Linda Brickman, said both the child and suspect had been in her home earlier that afternoon. She pointed out the suspect’s house across the street.

“I alerted the police . . . and they responded to the scene quickly,” Desbien said.

Moments later, Darlene Johnson, 18, was taken into custody along with her 17-year-old brother. Both were booked on suspicion of felony kidnaping. The baby was found, apparently unharmed, and returned to her parents.

Ponce, 18, who plans to pursue a career in law enforcement, said she had been on “quite a few” searches for missing children, “but nothing like this. I just feel so happy that she (the infant) is safe. Thank God we found her.”

Shocked at Recognition

Desbien, who also hopes for a career in law enforcement, said he was “shocked and surprised” when Brickman recognized the photograph of the missing child.

“I asked her again, just to make sure. She was sure . . . she was very helpful to us and seemed surprised to learn that the child had been kidnaped.”

Garden Grove police praised the Explorers for their patient work, saying the arrests and return of the baby would not have been possible without their contribution.

The Scouts, who serve as volunteers for a wide variety of police activities, took it in stride.

“That’s what we’re expected to do,” Desbien said.

The other Explorers who participated in the Thursday night search were Brian Stanley, 18, of Santa Ana; Jerry Rodarte, 16, Rob Dalton, 17, Robert Adams, 16, and Lori Bartel, 15, all of Garden Grove.