Texas father rescues kidnapped 15-year-old daughter after tracking her phone’s location | Texas
A Texas father used parental controls on his teenage daughter’s cellphone to help find and rescue her after she was kidnapped at knifepoint while walking her dog on Christmas, authorities allege.
The 15-year-old girl, who is at the center of a case that quickly gained attention in the United States over the weekend, was reportedly kidnapped in the Houston suburb of Porter. His family said he took his dog for a walk and did not return when he was supposed to. expression From the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
His father later found his phone through the device’s parental controls, the agency said in a statement. The phone was about 2 miles (3.2 km) away from him in a secluded, partially wooded area in neighboring Harris County.
Deputies said the father went to that location and found his daughter and dog inside a pickup truck with a partially naked man inside. In a statement from the Montgomery Sheriff’s Office, it was stated that he managed to escape with the help of his father, who later called law enforcement.
Investigators later learned that the man who kidnapped the girl threatened her with a knife and then kidnapped her off the street. Witnesses at the scene of the kidnapping provided a detailed description of a vehicle and its driver involved in the kidnapping, leading deputies to identify 23-year-old Giovanni Rosales Espinoza as the suspect, according to the sheriff’s office.
The agency said it tracked down Rosales, later identified as Porter, and arrested him without further incident. Deputies said they arrested him on charges of aggravated kidnapping and child obscenity. Bail was not immediately set for him and he remained in custody as of Sunday.
“Christmas is a day filled with joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child,” said a statement attributed to Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle. “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.”
As of Sunday morning, it was unclear whether Rosales had legal representation. Meanwhile, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has not released the identities of the alleged victim or his father.
Under Texas law, aggravated kidnapping cases can generally carry a sentence of at least five years in prison. And many cases involving indecency with a child can carry a sentence of at least two years in prison, often with sex offender registration.
