Father Finds 15-Year-Old Daughter, Who Was Kidnapped at Knifepoint on Christmas, by Tracking Her Phone’s Location

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• A Texas father tracked down his kidnapped 15-year-old daughter by using her phone’s location through parental controls, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

• Police said “the suspect threatened the victim with a knife and kidnapped him from the street.”

• Giovanni Rosales Espinoza, 23, was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child.

A kidnapped teenager was saved thanks to his father’s quick thinking.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) shared on: Facebook He said deputies responded to a report of a “15-year-old female abducted” in Porter, Texas, around 4:50 p.m. on Dec. 25.

Investigators learned that the teenager “took his dog for a walk and when he didn’t return at his usual time,” his parents became concerned. Her father then used parental controls to locate his daughter’s phone, which had a signal “about 2 miles away in a partially wooded area in Harris County.”

The father was able to locate his daughter via phone and found her and her dog inside a “maroon pickup truck” with a “23-year-old partially nude” male, according to MCSO. She then helped her daughter escape from the truck and contacted law enforcement.

“Investigation revealed that the suspect threatened the victim with a knife and kidnapped her off the street,” MCSO said.

Witnesses gave detailed descriptions of the truck, which helped deputies identify and identify the suspect in the incident. MCSO identified the suspect as 23-year-old Giovanni Rosales Espinoza of Porter.

Detectives with the MCSO Major Crimes Unit responded to the scene.

Espinosa was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child, MCSO said. As of Dec. 26, he remained in custody at the Montgomery County Jail without bail.

“Christmas is a day filled with joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child,” Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was quickly captured and now removed from our streets.”

“Rest assured that your Sheriff’s Office will be vigilant at all hours of every day to keep your families safe,” he added.

The family of the kidnapped teenager, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: KHOU11 They said they were grateful that the teenager was safe and returned home to recover. They also stated that none of the family members knew the suspect.

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MCSO said the incident is still under investigation.

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