Kidnapped boy returned to father

staff and wire reports

Monday, Oct. 20, 2008 | 8:33 a.m.

Metro Police

Cole Puffinburger

Metro Police

Jesus Gastelum

Clemens Fred Tinnemeyer

A 6-year-old boy abducted from his home at gunpoint was safe in his father's custody Sunday as police tried to untangle any ties the youngster's family had to the Mexican drug dealers suspected of taking him.

Police were interviewing Cole Puffinburger after he was found by a bus driver Saturday night in the area of 17th and Oakey.

"We're speaking with the boy today," FBI spokesman David Staretz said Sunday. "I know he's being interviewed by law enforcement, and we'll probably get a better idea of where he's been."

Staretz would not comment further on what had happened to Cole in the four days since he was snatched from his mother's home by two men posing as police officers.

A bus driver for the disabled discovered Cole walking alone on a residential street, said Jacob Snow, a general manager for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. The driver pulled over to see if he was OK.

"Cole approached the bus and asked the driver, 'Can you take me home?'" Snow said.

The bus driver, who did not want to be identified, took Cole onto the bus and contacted police, Snow said. The child told the driver and riders that he had been dropped off just a few minutes before.

Metro police Capt. Vincent Cannito said Cole was in "extremely good condition" during a 12:30 a.m. Sunday news conference. He was treated and released to his father's care early Sunday, hospital spokesman Rick Plummer said.

Staretz said authorities continued the search Sunday for another "person of interest," a Mexican citizen identified as Jesus Gastelum.

Gastelum is described as Hispanic, 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. Police also have someone else in custody -- in addition to the boy's grandfather -- but they didn't identify that person.

Metro Police have said they believe Cole's kidnapping was linked to his grandfather's drug deals with Mexican nationals and that there are millions of dollars involved. The grandfather, 51-year-old Clemens Fred Tinnemeyer, was arrested late Friday in Riverside, Calif.

Tinnemeyer was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate today in Riverside. He was being held in nearby San Bernardino on a material witness warrant issued by a federal court in Nevada.

Cole was taken at gunpoint at about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday from his home on Cherry Grove Avenue, near Hollywood and Lake Mead boulevards.

Police said two or three Hispanic men knocked on the front door of Cole's home, and when his mother answered the door, the men forced their way inside. They ransacked the house, took Cole and left.

Police said they believe the men were Mexican drug dealers and that the child's kidnapping was a "message" to Tinnemeyer.

One man was described as being about 5-foot-7, weighing 150 pounds with long, black, slicked-back hair. A second suspect is described as about 5-foot-7 and weighing 170 pounds.

Tinnemeyer may have stolen millions of dollars from Mexican nationals. Officer Cris Johnson, a Las Vegas police spokesman, declined to say what role Tinnemeyer played in the drug operation or whether the kidnappers had been seeking a ransom.

Police believe methamphetamine was involved, Johnson said.

Police said Tinnemeyer owns a sightseeing motorhome service and left the Las Vegas area on a tour on May 21. He contacted a family member on Aug. 22 to say he was in Tennessee, but hadn't been heard from since. The family filed a missing persons report on Tennemeyer on Sept. 11, Cannito said.

Anyone with information is urged to call Metro Police at 828-3111 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.