Family desperate to move out of area following kidnapping in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) The grandmother of the 1-year-old who was kidnapped by her father Friday is raising money so the baby’s mother can relocate out of the area.

“My granddaughter needs protection. They cannot be at my house and the reason for that is he comes unannounced, and if he gets out I’m fearful,” Misti Cox said.

The father, Brian Sellen, is in custody for the kidnapping his one-year-old daughter Mila at the Beachview Inn on Front Street Friday morning. At around 5 a.m., police received a domestic violence call, and when they arrived, they found an injured woman (Mila's mother) who said her child had been kidnapped by Sellen.

After an hours long standoff, Sellen returned Mila to the baby’s grandmother Misti Cox.

“She doesn’t have a voice, and somebody needed to be her voice," Cox said. "So I went in and did what I could.”

Sellen was arrested for domestic violence, kidnapping and child endangerment. He is currently in county jail and his bail is set at $100,000.

“A restraining order is a piece of paper and when you want something you’ll go after it. He will stop at nothing-obviously-to get to my daughter and use my granddaughter against her,” Cox said.

The GoFundMe created by Misti Cox: http://bit.ly/2GbZIBS