Who Is Kim Woo? 2-Year-Old Girl Abducted From Her Staten Island Home

UPDATE: 3:55 p.m. EST — Kim Woo and her father were found by police Tuesday on the Major Deegan Expressway in New York about six hours after their disappearance, according to the New York Daily News. Both the dad and the daughter were apparently unharmed. Charges were pending against the dad, and the little girl was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

The AMBER alert was canceled at 3:15 p.m.

Original story:

The New York Police Department is on the search for a 2-year-old Staten Island girl who was abducted from her mother, an off-duty NYPD sergeant, officials said Tuesday afternoon.

Johnny Woo, the child's 45-year-old father, allegedly assaulted the mother of Kim Woo on Ismay Street near Fields Avenue in Willowbrook at about 8:30 a.m, according to the Daily News. State police issued an Amber Alert for Kim Woo, with reports that she and Johnny Woo may have fled to the Bronx.

Johnny Woo reportedly doesn’t have custody of the child and the couple is in the process of getting a divorce, police said. The couple was arguing about their divorce at their Forest Hill Road home.

The father allegedly hit the 35-year-old woman in the stomach before grabbing their daughter out of a car seat and placing her in the back seat of a black 2015 Kia Sorrento.

Kim Woo was wearing pink, multi-colored pajamas, police officials said. She is described as 2 1/2 feet tall and about 30 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Johnny Woo is described as Asian with black hair and brown eyes and is 5 feet 4 inches tall. The suspect was seen driving the Kia Sorrento with New York license plate GHH-8886, according to initial reports.

The suspect took the child “under circumstances that led the police to believe that the child is in imminent danger,” New York State police said.

The mother of Kim Woo was reportedly taken to Richmond University Medical Center, in West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York City and said to be in stable condition, according to police and sources.

Neighbors were shocked by the news, with many describing the mother and daughter as friendly though they kept to themselves, according to NBCNewYork.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to call 911 or 1-866-NYS-AMBER (1-866-697-2623).

Studies show that 9 percent of missing children are kidnapped by a family member in custody dispute, according to the Polly Klass Foundation.