KIDNAP

By Merry X. MASS
Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Eight years after she disappeared from her bed in California, nine-year-old Crystal Anzaldi is slowly being readied by social workers to meet her real mother again.

Crystal hasn't seen the woman she now calls ``my new mother'' since being kidnapped in San Diego in December, 1992. Until recently, Crystal regarded the woman who was raising her in Puerto Rico as her mother.

But authorities regard that woman, Nilda Gierbolini Guzman, as the prime suspect in the kidnapping. Gierbolini now faces charges of falsifying documents, which -- together with the case's aggravating circumstances -- could result in a 40-year jail term even without kidnapping charges.

Dorothy Anzaldi called Puerto Rico's Department of the Family on Monday and asked to be reunited with the daughter she remembers as a chubby 14-year-old learning to walk. `I want to be able to go see my daughter,'' an impatient Ms. Anzaldi told The Associated Press. ``It's been so many long, agonizing years.''

But a reunion hinges on the girls own decision -- and what social workers make of the mother's troubled life. ``I explained to (Ms. Anzaldi) that it's going to take time to decide whether, where and under what circumstances such a meeting would be held,'' said Jenny Ramirez of the family department.

The little girl, meanwhile, is getting a lot of attention, particularly from psychologists helping her over the recent shock.

``She says she likes the name Crystal and she asks a lot of questions, both about her old mother, whom she now calls Nilda, and Mrs. Anzaldi, whom she calls `my new mother,''' Ramirez said.

The girl's gleeful smile pops up often at her new foster home. ``She's a very beautiful and bright girl who will help us decide what's best for her.'' Ramirez says. She said the case was complicated by the re-opening of an investigation in San Diego into the kidnapping, Puerto Rican Justice Department investigations and competing requests for custody from Crystal's parents, who now are divorced.

Ramirez said Jeffrey Anzaldi had not contacted her department about seeing his daughter though he is seeking custody of her.

Crystal disappeared a few days before Christmas in 1992, from the bed she was sharing with her parents and older sister, Kendra, who is now 10. The baby disappeared from a San Diego neighborhood that authorities say teamed with drug problems.

There was speculation that Crystal had been sold to pay a drug debt, and the parents came under suspicion. At the time, even Jeffrey Anzaldi wondered whether or not his wife was involved in the kidnapping, though he now says he does not believe that.

The strain ended their marriage.

In Puerto Rico, the child lived a nomadic existence. Ms. Gierbolini feared discovery. Crystal's last home was in Luqillo, a seaside town where she lived in a rundown house with Gierbolini and her American husband.

Gierbolini treated the child with affection when she wasn't drunk and abusing her. Authorities discovered that ``Sonja Guzman's'' birth certificate was a fake during a routine investigation of the abuse charges. Months later, they tracked down her true identity through an Internet site on missing children.

The euphoria has since been tempered by concern about what Crystal's future holds.

Her father lives in Banks, Oregon, with her older sister, a new wife and a half-sister. Her mother lives in Corning, Calif., and is in a wheelchair, recovering from a head-on collision that left her with multiple injuries. Both are seeking custody.

Gierbolini lived in San Diego at the time of the kidnapping with a former husband who was in the Navy like Anzaldi. Through statements made by her lawyers, Gierbolini has denied stealing Crystal.