A girl reported missing from Texas by her mother more than four years ago was found safe in Mexico after her father was accused of kidnapping her to the country, Us Weekly has learned. The 12-year-old was "safely recovered" in Mexico by U.S. Marshals Service officers on January 20 and has since been reunited with her family in Corpus Christi, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release on Wednesday, January 21. The girl, Emerald Garcia, was 7 years old when she went missing from her Portland, Texas, home in April 2021, according to police, KIII reported. "This is the best possible result that we can reach in these cases," San Patricio County District Attorney Margie Silva said during a recent news conference, according to the TV station. Silva added that investigators "never gave up" in the search for Emerald. Her father, Neftaly Garcia, had been accused of kidnapping her and fleeing south of the border, to La Angostura in Chiapas, Mexico, according to authorities. He is facing kidnapping charges and could face additional federal offenses, according to police, KRIS 6 News reported. Around the time he reportedly abducted his daughter, the U.S. Marshals Service said that "police took two people into custody in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving the child's mother, Angela Buitrago-Paredes." Texas Teen Saved By Dad After She Was Kidnapped on Christmas Day Buitrago-Paredes reported her daughter as missing after Neftaly failed to bring her back to her as part of a custody exchange, according to authorities. Under a custody arrangement, according to police, Garcia had custody of his daughter while her mother was in the U.S. "on a visa," KRIS 6 News reported. "There was custody paperwork between the two, and after reviewing that paperwork, I found that one of the restrictions was that no party could ever leave the country," Lieutenant Joe Tamez, who is with the Portland Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division, said during a news conference on January 20, according to the TV station. The girl's babysitter ultimately tipped off investigators about her whereabouts, according to police, the TV station reported. The Portland Police Department reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service for help in finding Emerald, according to the agency. The agency "joined forces with domestic and international partners to follow up leads, seek legal recourse and further develop relationships with Mexican law enforcement," the news release said. "They also verified Buitrago-Paredes was continuing to pursue legal remedies in both the United States and Mexico, and she had ongoing contact with Mexican authorities in an attempt to find her child," according to the U.S. Marshals Service. A major lead in the case occurred when Mexican officials "initiated a request for a provisional arrest warrant pursuant to treaty that was brought through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs," the U.S. The Marshals Service said. Man Charged in Murder of Woman Found in Burning Car Is Extradited to AZ Information on the father's legal representation was not immediately available. Now, Emerald is back with Buitrago-Paredes, authorities said. "The healing process now begins for them," Silva said, according to KRIS 6 News. "We celebrate the fact that she has been rescued and that a mother and her daughter are reunited," she added.