LDS convert speaks out about alleged kidnapping

The woman allegedly kidnapped by her parents after her conversion to the LDS Church is speaking out.

In a statement to the Deseret News — through her attorney — Danielle Alonso said she "voluntarily returned to Texas to be with her family."

"The decision to return to her Texas home and family and to remain there is personal and will remain private. It is her own decision and not the result of any undue influence or coercion," San Antonio attorney Carl Kolb said.

Salt Lake County sheriff's detectives plan to meet with prosecutors to decide if any criminal charges should be leveled against the parents suspected of abducting the 19-year-old woman. After some delays, detectives managed to question Danielle Alonso in Texas late Wednesday. She was accompanied by her attorney — something police said is "not very common" for someone who is believed to be a kidnap victim.

"To say that we've been able to have complete and unadulterated access to her in Texas would not be accurate," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson said Thursday. "But we were able to complete an interview."

A Salt Lake lawyer hired by her parents, Daniel and Gloria Alonso, denied it was they who hired the attorney in Texas. Kolb said she chose to speak with him "because of the possibility that something more than mere investigation of the facts was afoot."

"She wanted to be candid but avoid exploitation," Kolb said in the written statement.

Detectives questioned the parents for more than six hours in Salt Lake City on Wednesday before letting them return to Texas.

"Danielle is free to do what she wants. The parents are free to do what they want while we complete the investigation," Hutson said. "We'll present it to the D.A. for potential charges. We have some work to do with the information we gathered."

In his statement, Kolb said that Danielle has been with her family for several days and could return to Utah at any time — if she so desired.

"Danielle is a mature young woman with an abiding faith in God that keeps her free and strong. She understands the events that occurred, how events can be misunderstood, and why. She understands the actions of well-intentioned law enforcement officials," he said. "She also understands the role of politics and the business of the media. She sorely regrets that a purely private matter was misunderstood, and that these misunderstandings have been highly publicized — at the speed of light."