GIRL FOUND SAFE SHARP-EYED CLINIC WORKERS SPY JESSICA, CALL 911.

Byline: Jason Kandel, Philip Browne and Dana Bartholomew Staff Writers

A two-day search for a 4-year-old feared kidnapped or drowned at Echo Park lake ended Tuesday when Jessica Cortez was found - alive and unharmed - at a medical clinic seven miles from where she disappeared.

Shortly after 5 p.m., Jessica was brought to St. John's Wellness Child's Center near Exposition Park by a well-dressed woman who was taken into custody and being questioned by police.

``Little Jessica's been found!'' Mayor James Hahn announced to cheers of volunteers and community members who had helped in the search effort at Echo Park, where the girl disappeared Sunday evening during a family outing. ``This turned out to be a great day, and our prayers were answered.''

Police couldn't say whether the woman was a witness or a suspect, and they were trying to determine whether a tattooed man seen with the girl before she disappeared had anything to do with abducting her.

Police Chief Martin Pomeroy said the girl was too excited to be interviewed extensively Tuesday night by police, who were trying to determine who was responsible.

``She appeared happy and healthy with no obvious trauma,'' Pomeroy said.

``The girl was full of energy, full of fire. Her hair was cut. ... She said she didn't think she was pretty anymore,'' Pomeroy said.

``She was so full of life that our detectives shed a few tears,'' he said. ``We're still trying to determine whether the woman is a witness or a suspect. The man has not been apprehended.''

Pomeroy said he believed the media attention led to a speedy return of the girl.

FBI Special Agent Richard Garcia said such cases are happening all too often. ``By all means, this is a lesson to parents to watch your kids,'' Garcia said.

Jim Mangia, executive director of St. John's Well Child Center, told KCBS (Channel 2) that the woman, who seemed disoriented, came into the clinic with a young girl and said she wanted a doctor to examine ``her child.''

The woman, who had long reddish hair, refused to sign the clinic's forms and wrote that the child's name was ``Maria Ortiz.''

The child's hair was cut ``very jagged,'' she was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and she was barefoot and dirty, he said.

Clinic workers became suspicious and recognized the little girl as the missing Jessica, he said, adding that when they asked the girl her name, she replied, ``Jessica.''

When they asked her whether the woman was her mother, she said no.

``The woman was clearly not her mother,'' Mangia said. ``We recognized the girl, and I told a nurse to take the girl and the woman into a room and do an examination.''

The nurse was instructed to keep the two in the examination room as long as possible, while clinic workers dialed 911. Police arrived and took the unidentified woman into custody.

``I feel elated, wonderful, so thrilled and thankful that we found her,'' Mangia said. ``I am very proud for the clinic and the people that work here.''

Jessica's rescue capped an intense two-day search involving hundreds of police and FBI investigators. The city and FBI offered a total of $45,000 in rewards just hours before the girl was found.

Dive teams used sonar Tuesday to comb the murky bottom of Echo Lake, while investigators searched for the tattooed man purportedly had been seen talking to the preschooler at the park.

Hundreds of residents gathered at the end of Echo Park on Tuesday evening among a throng of television cameras, police, religious leaders carrying banners and crosses, and children.

The mood was a mixture of elation and relief, not only for young Jessica that she was safe, but that their children were safe as well.

Below a tree on Park Avenue was a shrine for Jessica, made up of teddy bears, other stuffed animals, balloons, candles and a message that read, ``Our prayers go out to you. Come home safe.''

In front of the shrine sat Lydia Magana, 28, with her three sons between 3 and 11, who live two blocks away.

``Real happy,'' she said when asked her mood. ``I've been here all day. I want to tell (her children), 'Don't talk to strangers.' I've been waiting here because I want to see the girl and celebrate.''

Police began a search for the missing girl Sunday night after she disappeared while her parents were selling tacos in the park. Canine patrol officers canvassed the neighborhood, and divers searched the lake.

At that point, no one reported seeing anything suspicious, and Jessica's 5-year-old brother said she might have fallen in the water.

The LAPD ordered an Amber Alert, which uses the Internet and electronic highway signs to get word out about child abductions.

Authorities rescinded the alert a half-hour later after police reclassified the disappearance as a missing-child case and not a confirmed abduction.

Police continued their investigation Monday, and a witness came forward at 9:30 p.m., saying he had seen Jessica being led away by a man walking a brown Chihuahua.

Based on that tip, authorities posted a second Amber Alert late Monday.

``It's another tool that allows the investigating agency to provide notification to the general public when the public can provide assistance in a case,'' said CHP spokesman Steve Kohler. ``We might have a better opportunity to rescue a child.''

The Amber Alert system also was credited with the rescue Aug. 1 of Tamara Brooks and Jacqueline Marris, two Antelope Valley teens who were kidnapped at gunpoint by a ex-con.

At Echo Park on Tuesday evening, Alma Martinez, 20, waited by the shrine for Jessica with her 8-month-old daughter in a stroller.

``Thank God, everything came out all right, that she's safe, that she's with her brothers and sisters,'' said Martinez, who lives nearby. ``I thought the worst - that she had died. This time it is a happy ending.''

Martinez said she is afraid of the park.

``I really don't like to come down to the park because there are a lot of crazy people around here. It's dangerous around here.''

She said she will never let her daughter play there alone.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jessica Cortez, missing since Sunday, was found alive and well only seven miles from where she was last seen.

(2) Investigators are still unsure whether Jessica's alleged abductor, seen in this sketch, is uninvolved in the crime.