Immokalee couple arrested for taking boy from Cape Coral Sports Complex

Jeremias Lopez Domingo

An Immokalee couple has been arrested by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in the Tuesday disappearance of 9-year-old Jeremias Lopez-Domingo.

Juan Lopez-Ramos, 26, and Etelvina Lopez-Ramirez, 20, are charged with kidnapping (interference with custody) for taking Jeremias, who is in foster care, from the Cape Coral Soccer Complex on Tuesday night. Lopez-Ramos has an additional charge of giving false information to law enforcement.

A Collier County deputy found Jeremias hiding in a trailer in Immokalee with Lopez-Ramirez, his cousin, and her infant daughter Wednesday night. 

Juan Lopez-Ramos and Etelvina Lopez-Ramirez were arrested in for taking a 9-year-old boy from the Cape Coral Sports Complex Tuesday.

Jeremias has been returned to his foster mother in Cape Coral. Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the 10-month-old.

According to the arrest report, two cousins of Jeremias overheard a phone conversation between him and Lopez-Ramirez where those two planned to meet at the field’s bathrooms during halftime of his game on Tuesday night.

Jeremias had used one of the cousins’ phones several times to call Lopez-Ramiez, who has a Pennsylvania number. When police pinged her phone it led them to an intersection in Immokalee, where they found Lopez-Ramos sitting in a car with Pennsylvania plates outside of his trailer.  

Juan Lopez-Ramos

Lopez-Ramos said Lopez-Ramirez, who he said was his wife, and their daughter had left three days before, and he did not know where they were.

A female roommate of the couple told police she heard Lopez-Ramirez speaking with a young male in their trailer right before police arrived, according to the report.

After more questioning, Lopez-Ramos admitted to knowing where Lopez-Ramirez was. After being found, Jeremias told deputies he told no one of his plans and did not ask permission to leave with Lopez-Ramos or Lopez-Ramirez.

When deputies arrived at the couples’ Immokalee trailer, he, Lopez-Ramirez and her infant daughter ran out the back door and hid in a different trailer until deputies found them.

9-year-old Jeremias Lopez-Domingo was reported missing Oct. 24, 2017 in Cape Coral, Florida.

Lopez-Ramos and Lopez-Ramirez were transported to Collier County Jail in Immokalee. Lopez-Ramos is being held on $7,000 bond.

A threat of deportation to his native Guatemala may have been among the reasons why the foster child disappeared for more than a day.

A CCPD report said that electricity went out at the complex around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at which point Jeremias and another boy asked their soccer coach to use the bathroom. 

When the lights came back on at 8:05 p.m. only one of the boys returned. Jeremias remained absent.

Etelvina Lopez-Ramirez

The coach called Jeremias' former and current foster parents and was told by the former parents that they wouldn't be surprised if he ran away because he has just been told, along with his cousins, that they were to be deported to Guatemala, their home country.

"We are all relieved," said Nadereh Salim, CEO of the Children's Network of Southwest Florida. "We are limited in the information we can share due to confidentiality."

On Wednesday Salim confirmed that Jeremias is a foster child originally from Colotenango, Guatemala, had no history of running away, was not challenging and was not on medication when he went missing. 

Salim said the boy's disappearance was an "anomaly" since he was not considered a child with problems.