Roanoke authorities had feared the worst Monday when they found the child's mother, Tina Smith, 41, slain in her home near Salem, Va.
"It's an amazing ending to a story, and we were so concerned about what would be the outcome," said Teresa Hamilton Hall, a Roanoke County police spokeswoman. Four detectives, en route to San Francisco to complete the investigation, will thank the shopper personally, she said.
"We have no idea who it is, but in my eyes, whoever it is, they're a hero," Hall said.
Girl's father tearful
The father of the kidnap victim, who is a police officer in a nearby town, was tearful when he got the news his daughter had been found, Hall said.
"He expressed extreme relief - he was tearful, thanking God and thanking the officers and especially the woman who called in," she said.
Easley had been living with Brittany and her mother since October after meeting Tina Smith online last summer, according to Roanoke officials.
Tina Smith, who was employed at a local retirement home, had not been to work on Sunday, and co-workers discovered her body the next day when they came to check on her.
Police began a national manhunt, with Easley's mother tearfully pleading on television for him to give himself up. The only clue authorities had was that Easley and the girl were recorded on video buying a blue tent at a Walmart near the victim's home, possibly on the day of the slaying, believed to be Dec. 3.
Distinctive tattoos
On Friday, San Francisco police called Virginia police after the shopper spotted the fugitive and the girl at the Safeway at 48th Avenue and Fulton Street. They described distinctive tattoos Easley had on his calves to confirm his identity.
"We're immensely happy," Lavinder said late Friday, thanking both the alert shopper and San Francisco police for capturing the man and recovering the kidnap victim without incident.
The two, who were detained at about 1:30 p.m., had been living in a makeshift encampment near Ocean Beach, police said. The tent Easley had purchased at the Virginia Walmart was found in the encampment nearby, police said.
The child was placed in a shelter, and Easley was being held without bail on kidnapping charges.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F12%2F11%2FMN0I1GP6UF.DTL
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's a related update:
Virginia abduction suspect waives extradition
by the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) -- A man considered a prime suspect in the death of a Virginia woman and the abduction of her daughter waived extradition Tuesday and will return from California, authorities said.
Jeffrey Scott Easley, 32, appeared in San Francisco Superior Court and decided to return to Roanoke, where he faces abduction and credit card fraud charges, Roanoke County spokeswoman Teresa Hall said.
He will probably return Wednesday or Thursday, Hall said.
Police say Brittany Mae Smith, 12, was abducted and taken on a weeklong cross-country trek.
The girl's father, Benjamin Smith, expressed gratitude Monday to the numerous people who worked on the case and who publicized the names and faces of Brittany and her alleged abductor. He singled out Theresa Shanley, who recognized the pair outside a San Francisco supermarket, as "my hero."
Two detectives from Roanoke County escorted the girl from California back to Roanoke on Monday, Hall said.
Roanoke County police Chief Ray Lavinder has called Easley a "very good suspect" in the death of Tina Smith, Brittany's mother.
Police believe that 41-year-old Smith, who was Easley's girlfriend, was killed between the morning and evening of December 3, Lavinder said. On that day, surveillance video shows Easley and Brittany Smith shopping for a blue domed tent at a Wal-Mart in Salem.
Lavinder said authorities believe that the two left Virginia, heading toward California, that night or early the next day. They traveled cross-country in Tina Smith's silver 2005 Dodge Neon sedan, which was found in a parking lot adjacent to San Francisco International Airport after authorities found Brittany Smith and Easley.
The pair were holding up a cardboard sign and asking for money when they were spotted, Lavinder said. The Safeway was within walking distance of the makeshift campsite containing the tent in which Easley and Brittany Smith had been staying.
Easley did not resist when police arrested him shortly after 2 p.m. Friday, San Francisco police Officer Albie Esparza said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/14/virginia.missing.child/
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