A kidnapped 3-year-old boy remained missing Tuesday after two gunmen broke into his family's home, tied up his mother and her five children, robbed the house and left with the child, authorities said.
Authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border have been put on alert, and the San Diego FBI has joined the case.
The California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert late Sunday for 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez, about nine hours after he was taken from his San Bernardino home.
The men, each carrying a handgun, burst through the front door of the home, tied up the family, then ransacked the house and stole money and property, said Cindy Beavers, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department..
The men then left with Briant and told the still-bound mother and four other children not to call police. One of the gunmen told Briant's mother he was going to take the child to Mexico and kill him.
One of the children freed himself then untied the rest of the family, Beavers said. Beavers did not know the ages of the rest of the children but said she believed Briant was the youngest.
The mother told investigators she did not know the two Hispanic men, one estimated to be 18 years old, the other 24.
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"We have no idea why they took the child," Beavers said. "They were strangers to the whole family."
No witnesses saw the men's vehicle.
Briant is a Hispanic boy 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds, with brown eyes and long, curly brown hair. He was wearing a yellow shirt, blue-striped shorts and black sandals when he was taken.
San Bernardino is about 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
