‘Never thought she’d see her daughter again’: Local mother, daughter reunited after nearly 14 years

CLERMONT, FLA. — A Clermont mother and daughter are reunited after nearly 14 years apart.

Jacqueline Hernandez was just 6 years old in December 2007 when she vanished. Clermont police said she was kidnapped from her home by her father.

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“We originally took the report and did the investigation back when she was 6 years old. At that time, it came to a dead end,” said Capt. Michael McMaster, with the Clermont Police Department.

McMaster said the girl’s father took her to Mexico without her mother knowing.

“She probably never thought she’d see her daughter again,” McMaster said.

READ: Case closed: Clermont woman reunited with abducted daughter after 14 years

Almost 14 years passed. Patiently, the mom waited for answers.

“At the beginning of this month, the daughter reached out to her mother via social media,” McMaster said.

The mom drove hundreds of miles to meet her daughter at the border in Texas for the first time in more than a decade.

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“Many years later, she has that opportunity to be back with her daughter,” McMaster said.

McMaster said cases like this don’t come around often.

“To find out that they were reunited, and you know, and bring them to the happiness and the family back together is it makes it makes our job a little extra special, because we don’t see that all the time,” McMaster said.

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The mother and daughter are asking for privacy while they make up for lost time.

Investigators said they believe the girl’s father is still in Mexico. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

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