A teenager who was reportedly abducted and brought 1,000 away from her Dallas, Texas, home was rescued this week due to the actions of quick-thinking authorities.
The 13-year-old was discovered inside a locked shed on property belonging to 34-year-old Jorge Camacho, the Daily Mail reported.
Camacho, accused of using social media to draw in the victim, has been charged with several crimes, including human trafficking, felonious restraint, child abduction, and rape.
The girl was reportedly encouraged online to leave her home and was later allegedly picked up by the accused and brought to North Carolina.
Authorities said communications between the suspect and the teen before the purported kidnapping were “consistent with grooming and enticement.”
Davidson County Sheriff Richie Simmons told NewsNation authorities immediately jumped into gear once they received reliable information from the FBI on where the missing teen was being held.
“We rallied our troops very quickly, within minutes,” Simmons said. “We had some undercover vehicles watching the house where he was supposed to be, and we held that down until other units could get in the area.”
“On Friday, March 10th, at approximately 6:00 pm, Davidson County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a Special Agent with the Texas FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force in reference to a missing 13-year-old female,” a statement on the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page reads. “Dallas Police Department was investigating a missing juvenile and with the FBI’s assistance, they were able to discover that the juvenile had been communicating with an adult male through a social media chat platform.”
Authorities reportedly used camera footage in the area of the teen’s home to find a vehicle registered to an address in North Carolina.
During a traffic stop with the vehicle’s registered owner, it was determined the teen was “locked in an outbuilding.” The accused was reportedly living in the shed and was a friend of the property owner’s son, according to NewsNation.
Police said the unnamed teen did “not appear to have any physical injuries.”
“I thank God we were able to find this young girl,” Simmons said.
The victim’s mother was also overjoyed to see the child return home after the horrific incident, noting there were tears and discussions about parental involvement.
She said she was “heartbroken” and afraid she’d never see her little girl again.
“We cried and I told her I was sorry for not being more involved with her,” the mom reportedly told NewsNation. “I knew there was a chance I was never going to see her again.”
Camacho is being held at the Davidson County Detention Center on a $1.25 million bond.
