MOTHER PLEADS FOR CHILD'S RETURN; HER DAUGHTER DISAPPEARED WITH RENTER.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

With tears of agony streaming down her face, Rosalina Linares pleaded Saturday for the return of her 9-year-old daughter, last seen Thursday with a woman with a history of erratic behavior, police said.

Elizabeth Guadalupe Garcia disappeared from her Panorama City home at about 5 p.m. and was last spotted walking on Sepulveda Boulevard with Eva Susana Villacana, 32, who rented a room from Linares last week.

``I don't want (Villacana) prosecuted, I just want my daughter back - even if she just drops her off on the corner,'' said Linares, 40, during a press conference held Saturday outside the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys division.

``I know my daughter is scared that I might punish her because she went with (Villacana), but I won't,'' said Linares, a mother of four. ``I just want her back.''

Police said they are not treating the case as a kidnapping but as a child concealment case until more information is obtained.

``We have no reason to believe that she had any intention of keeping the child,'' said Detective Craig Rhudy, of the Van Nuys Division's Juvenile Unit. He added that Villacana had not contacted police nor Linares about her whereabouts.

Villacana also disappeared with her own two young children, ages 3 and 2.

``She's been moving around from place to place; she has no money, no resources, no job,'' said Rhudy.

Linares' baby sitter introduced her to Villacana, who was in financial straits and was searching for a place to stay. Linares and Villacana are members of the Iglesia Pentacostes Church.

She had an extra room and offered it to Villacana, but Linares said she feels betrayed.

``She didn't know how to appreciate the trust I put in her, the hand I extended to her,'' said Linares, who works at a local factory making camera bags.``Look how she repays me.''

Linares described Villacana as an amiable, sensible woman who adored her children and spent her day feeding and caring for them. Linares' own children were cared for by a baby sitter.

Garcia, a student at Noble Avenue Elementary school in North Hills, has never wandered far from home, her mother said.

Police suspect Villacana is still in the area because she does not have a vehicle. They are searching for Villacana's ex-boyfriend, who does have a vehicle.

Garcia has a light complexion, is 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, blue shorts and white platform tennis shoes.

Villacana has brown hair and eyes, is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds. She frequents the Food-4-Less in Panorama City.

Anyone with information can call Van Nuys police at [phone] or after midnight at [phone].

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Elizabeth Garcia

Last seen Thursday

(2) Eva Villacana

Spotted with child