Man kidnaps kids, steals sailboat

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KGO) -- There is an ongoing search for a man who apparently abducted his children, taking them away in a stolen sailboat. They believe he stole the sail boat at Ballena Isle Marina in Alameda and headed toward Mare Island. He and his two young children are missing and so is a yacht.

South San Francisco, county and federal officials are looking for a man who they say kidnapped his two small children on Tuesday afternoon. Authorities say Christopher Maffei rented a car and drove from his home in Elk Grove, which is near Sacramento, and broke into his ex-girlfriend's house. She lives on James Court.

ABC7 News spoke to the ex-girlfriend on Thursday night and she said she was in the process of filing a restraining order in Redwood City, when he got into her home and took the couple's two children. Her mother was watching the kids at the time. She says Maffei ran down the street with the kids, still had his car running, put the kids inside and sped away.

"I'm afraid if they back him into a corner. I just don't want him to snap and do something really stupid more than what he's already done, so I'm just really worried for my kids and I just want them to come back home to me safe and unharmed," said the mother of the children.

After Maffei left South San Francisco officials say he drove to the Ballena Isle Marina in Alameda and stole a 40-foot yacht named "Unleashed" and it has San Francisco painted on the stern. The last time the yacht was seen was Wednesday around 6 p.m. near Mare Island near Vallejo.

Maffei is 43 years old, has dark hair and a short beard. His children are 4-year-old Brooklynn and 2-year-old Devin. Brooklynn was wearing a white, sleeveless dress with blue and green designs. Devin was wearing a short sleeve "Sponge Bob" shirt and a diaper.

Police do believe that Maffei could be heading to Monterey or as far away as Mexico.

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south san francisco, alameda, east bay news, lisa amin gulezian

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