Big Lake man sentenced to probation in Pope County abduction case

A Big Lake man has been sentenced for the abduction of a 2-year-old boy in Pope County last year.

Court records show that 22-year-old Benigno Alvarez-Gutierrez, also known as Victor Ramirez Alvarez, was sentenced last Thursday to just under two years (21 months) in jail. However, that sentence was stayed for three years. He’ll instead spend the next three years on supervised probation. He’d already served 329 days behind bars.

RELATED: Big Lake man charged in Pope County abduction case

Alvarez-Gutierrez was arrested on March 17, 2022. Earlier that day, a woman called 911 to report that her son was missing from her home in Westport when she went to get him out of bed in the morning. While searching for the boy, she said she found a note written in Spanish and English that was asking for forgiveness for taking the boy.

Deputies found footprints outside the bedroom window and a K9 tracked the scent to the nearby road. An Amber Alert was issued and the boy’s mother noted Alvarez-Gutierrez was fond of the boy but thought he’d moved to California.

Authorities tracked his vehicle and arrested him after a 911 caller reported finding the boy in her garage.