GOOD DEED GOES AWRY IN ACTON ABDUCTION UNKNOWINGLY AIDED.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

ACTON - When a woman with a 9-year-old girl showed up at an Acton shopping center Thursday night, saying she was out of gas and had locked her keys in her car, citizens didn't hesitate to help.

The good Samaritans helped the woman get her Hyundai's door open, gave her gas money, offered directions to San Diego and gave the pair a pizza for the trip.

It wasn't until the next morning that the citizens heard news reports and realized they had helped a mentally unstable Bakersfield woman who had abducted her daughter from a supervised visit.

``They just thought they were helping someone out,'' said Detective Mary Degeare of the Bakersfield Police Department. ``They didn't know anything about the abduction.''

Pamela Walden, 50, and daughter Cierra Rose showed up in Acton about 8 p.m. Thursday - almost four hours after the girl's abduction in Bakersfield, but 90 minutes before Bakersfield police asked for a statewide Amber Alert and some eight hours before the alert actually went out.

Amber Alert are not usually used for parental abductions, but police decided this was a different case.

Pamela Walden is said to believe that people are trying to kill her daughter and that the girl has a computer chip implanted in her head that allows God to speak through her, officials said.

Pamela Walden was arrested in February and again on Aug. 21, but she was released on Tuesday, just two days before the abduction. Pamela Walden lost custody of the girl a month ago following a dependency hearing.

``This little girl is certainly in some danger,'' Degeare said.

The girl was taken from the Kern County Department of Human Services building Thursday during a supervised visit with her mother. The person supervising the visit said she was distracted when Pamela Walden grabbed her daughter and fled about 4:10 p.m., police said.

Bakersfield Police attempted to activate the Amber Alert system about 9:30 p.m., but because of their unfamiliarity with the new system the alert didn't go out until about 4 a.m. Friday.

The good Samaritans called Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies early Friday and Acton resident Deputy Eric Doepking interviewed them.

Bakersfield detectives transmitted a photograph that the good Samaritans positively identified as the pair seen in Acton, police said.

Officials initially believed that Walden was heading to Oregon.

California Highway Patrol officers were working with Border Patrol agents to look for the mother's car and make sure they didn't cross into Mexico.

Cierra is described as being white, standing about 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighing about 60 pounds. She has blond hair, blue eyes and a light complexion. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and purple shorts.

Pamela Walden is described as being white with brown shoulder length hair and green eyes, weighing about 110 pounds and standing about 5 feet 2 inches tall. She was wearing a white tank top and blue jeans.

They were in a dark blue 1999 Hyundai 2-door with California license plate number 4SHV526.

Anyone with information is asked to call their local sheriff's station, California Highway Patrol office or the Bakersfield Police Department at [phone].

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Photo:

(color -- ran in AV edition only) CIERRA ROSE