Missouri police arrested five illegal immigrants from Mexico and Honduras after they allegedly kidnapped a teenage girl from Indiana who thought she was meeting someone from social media.
Indiana police said they were alerted to a report of a missing 14-year-old by the girl’s father from their home in Cass County just before 2 a.m. He told police that he saw her get into a strange vehicle very early in the morning on Sunday, which was Father’s Day.
She thought she was meeting someone whom she had gotten to know online.
Missouri State Highway Patrol said they were notified about the missing girl on Monday.
Court documents indicated that the Cass County Sheriff’s Office pinged the girl’s phone and found her location in Hannibal, Missouri. After informing local authorities, the highway patrol was able to locate a vehicle matching the description and initiated a traffic stop.
Police said they found the girl in the vehicle with five males, and she told them that she was the missing teenager. After an investigation, they arrested the five men for kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
The five men were booked into the Macon County Jail and identified by police as Marlon Aguilar and Carlos Funez of Honduras and Arturo Eustaquio, Noe Guzman Hernandez, and Daniel Ruiz Lopez from Mexico.
The men are being held without bond because prosecutors say they are a flight risk due to their immigration status.
The girl reportedly told police that she thought she was meeting someone whom she had gotten to know online.
Investigators believe the vehicle was heading to California. Each of the five suspects could face up to seven years in prison if convicted for kidnapping.
The girl is reportedly safe and back home with her family.
Experts have warned parents that they should carefully monitor their children’s behavior on social media and limit their access to prevent online predators from targeting them.
‘Fear and uncertainty.’
Illegal immigrant crime is a growing concern among voters ahead of the November presidential election. While former President Donald Trump has continued his promises of deporting illegal immigrants, border crossings have skyrocketed during the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced executive action that would implement the greatest amnesty for illegal immigrants since the DACA order during the Obama administration. Critics accused him of unconstitutionally changing policy without the approval of Congress, which was also a challenge lobbed against former President Barack Obama’s amnesty order.
“They’ve been living in the United States all of this time, in fear and uncertainty,” said Biden at the announcement. “We can fix that, and that’s why I’m gonna do today!”
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