This article first appeared on Cowboy State Daily
By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily
A Utah teenager who was kidnapped by a Florida man she met online was discovered by Cheyenne police on Thursday and rescued, officials announced.
The 13-year-old girl was reported missing earlier this week from her home in Roosevelt, Utah. An investigation by local, state and federal authorities revealed the girl had been communicating online with 25-year-old Chris Evans via the Oculus virtual reality headset for around a month.
Evans made contact with the girl in Utah and transported her to a Love’s truck stop in Cheyenne.
Evans’ location was determined through cell phone data and communication applications. The Federal Bureau of Investigation alerted the Cheyenne Police Department that Evans and the girl were in the area.
Within an hour, police found Evans and the girl.
Around 2:45 p.m. Thursday, officers found a semi-truck at the Love’s truck stop matching the description of the truck driven by Evans. Officers knocked on the door and made contact with Evans, who exited the vehicle.
Evans told officers the girl was also in the truck. He was arrested without incident and transported to the Laramie County Detention Center.
He is in custody as of Friday afternoon on a warrant accusing him of kidnapping.
The girl was in good health and will soon be reunited with her family. The case remains under investigation by the FBI.
The Roosevelt City Police Department told several Utah news outlets that Evans will also face a charge of harboring a runaway. KOMO News in Utah initially reported that Evans and the girl were possibly headed either to Florida or Washington.
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