Elisa Cardenas FOUND!

Elisa was found about 11 hours after she was snatched while playing outdoors with a group of friends.

Police later arrested Gregorio Gonzalez, 24.
(Oct. 5) -- Authorities in California are crediting two "good Samaritans" with helping rescue an 8-year-old girl who was abducted outside her Fresno home and sexually assaulted.

"I want to say thank you to the citizens of Fresno and the good Samaritans," Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters. "They are heroes."

The girl was abducted in front of her Fresno home Monday night, just minutes after police had received a report about a man, believed to be the suspected kidnapper, exposing himself to two other children in the same area, according to news reports.

According to the San Francisco Appeal, witnesses described the suspect as a white or light-skinned Hispanic male, in his mid-20s. He was reportedly driving a 1980s or 1990s Ford or Chevy pickup truck. Using that information, authorities were able to obtain surveillance footage of the truck and an Amber Alert was issued. The FBI was also brought in to assist in the investigation, and more than 130 officers were dispatched to search the area.

Dyer said an unidentified man who had heard the Amber Alert spotted a suspect vehicle around 7 a.m. today. The person did not initially see the girl inside the vehicle but decided to pursue it and eventually saw the child stick her head up.

"He realized right then and there he had the suspect vehicle and he did the right thing," Dyer said. "He cut in front of the suspect vehicle ... [and the girl] took the moment of opportunity. [She] opened up the passenger door and jumped out and ran. Another good Samaritan [then] stayed with her. 40 minutes after the girl was rescued, the California Highway Patrol received a tip leading them to an apartment complex, where they found the suspect inside his vehicle. Gonzalez was taken into custody without incident, Dyer said.

The girl, whom Dyer described as "frightened" and "traumatized," was taken to Community Regional Medical Center. She has been reunited with her mother.

"I got to tell you, it was the highlight of my career seeing [the girl] and her mom unite in the hospital," Dyer said. "Because we beat the odds today, because in many cases we don't find the child alive, and today we did."