UPDATE

Missing Van Nuys Girl Found, Her Mother Arrested

On Thursday, December 8, 2005, detectives from Van Nuys Division located 3-year-old
Alexandra Elliott and her mother, Lana Marie Whitson Elliott in St. George Utah.
On Friday, December 9, 2005, Lana Marie Whitson Elliott was arrested for abducting Alexandra and was extradited back to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Police Department is requesting assistance in finding a missing 3-year-old taken by her mother in the Van Nuys area.

On 12-6-05, at about 12:30 p.m., a mother abducted her 3-year-old daughter, Alexandra Elliott. The suspect was granted a monitored visitation at her residence in the 13400 block of Riverside Drive. During a child visitation the suspect took Alexandra and left the residence.

The suspect is bipolar and has had other children removed from her custody due to abuse. The suspect was last seen at the Greyhound bus station on Laurel Canyon and Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood.

The suspect has a strong affiliation with the Mormon Church and may be seeking refuge at a women's shelter in Utah.

The mother is identified as Lana Marie Whitson Elliott, female White, 41 years of age, brown hair, hazel eyes, 5'4 and 125 pounds. She has a thin build, and was wearing a black suit with a black shirt.

The missing child is identified as Alexandra Elliot, female White, 3 years of age, brown hair, brown eyes, 3'1, and 28 pounds. She was last seen wearing a multi-colored flower print dress.

Due to the mother's unstable mental condition, it is believed the child's safety is in jeopardy.

Photographs of the mother and child are below.

Anyone with information of the missing child is asked to contact Van Nuys Area Police Station Detectives at 818-756-8371. On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFULL (1-877-529-3855).