AN AMBER ALERT THAT FINALLY ENDED POSITIVE!

Was pleased to hear last night that 12 year old Margarita Aguilar-Lopez was found safe and sound last evening, and the man she was traveling with, 25 year old Antonio Paulino-Perez, had been arrested. They were found near a small town in northwestern South Carolina.

It was truly wonderful that, after all the tragedies in the news regarding abducted and missing children locally in recent months, that at least one ends on a positive note!

There are still plenty of questions to be answered, and unfortunately authorities may never be able to answer them all.

1) Was the girl actually abducted, or did she go willingly? They are both from Mexico, and my understanding is that it is not unusual for young girls of 12 or in their early teens to leave home and begin a life on their own; it's part of the culture, as one of the local news reporters put it. That still doesn't make it right. You remember the old saying "When in Rome..."? Well, it's rather illegal for a child that age to do that sort of thing...

2) Why were her two brothers seemingly unconcerned throughout the investigation? When the girl left and police first began asking questions, the brothers said they were drunk and forgot.

3) What happens now? Obviously, she will be placed into foster care until everything is settled, and hopefully she will be reunited with her parents in Mexico. As far as the brothers, I'd like to see them charged with child endangerment. And the fellow she was with? Let the feds work that out as he took her across state lines. And they'll all be deported.