A Clayton County man accused of kidnapping his four children in September was arrested Thursday, according to police.

Francisco Madrigal, 36, was taken into custody without incident by the fugitive squad of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department after Madrigal was seen in the Rock Cut Rd. and Moreland Ave. area in Forest Park.

He was wanted for the Sept. 12 kidnapping and interference with custody of his four children. The children were reunited with their mother, Miriam Rivera, on Oct. 12. They were returned home after a harrowing, cross-country journey from Georgia to Mexico, authorities said.

The investigation began the evening of Sept. 12, when Forest Park officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of Rock Cut Road in the Sheraton House Apartments. There, Rivera told officers her ex-boyfriend had taken her four children without her consent.

Delk said Madrigal had traveled to Mexico and initially left the children with his relatives before retrieving them, then dropping them off at their maternal grandmother’s home in San Luis Potosi.

Relatives who live in Corpus Christi, Texas – who had never met the children -- traveled to Mexico and returned the youngsters to the United States, then drove them back to Georgia.

Reporter David Ibata contributed to this report.

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In this file photo from October 2024, Atlanta Braves outfielder Jorge Soler and teammates react after losing to the San Diego Padres 5-4 in San Diego. The Braves and Soler, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels, face a lawsuit by a fan injured at a 2021 World Series game at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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