Authorities say the suspect, identified as Kailei Valdivia, told the girl's mother that she was going to the store with the girl, Stephanie Hartzell, at about 6 p.m. Monday, but they never returned home. The mother contacted police at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Police say Valdivia, 42, was temporarily living with Stephanie and her mother. She told detectives it was all a misunderstanding. The mother says she had no right to keep her child overnight.
Valdivia met with police at a park in Norwalk just before 5 p.m., where she returned the child.
