Shortly after a Little Elm teen went missing last Sunday, police found her and charged a man in connection with her disappearance.
The 16-year-old was reported missing from her home in South Paloma Creek on February 12, according to a news release from Little Elm Police Department.
A Be On The Lookout (BOLO) was issued for the teen when the search led by Little Elm police reached a dead-end. Officers had scoured the nearby area using foot patrols, vehicle stops, drones, and search dogs.
Of the 521,705 people reported missing in 2021 in Texas, the majority — 317,869 — were under the age of 18, according to the Texas Center for the Missing. This number continues to grow, with 2022 seeing a surge of 41 juveniles reported missing in June alone.
Fortunately, in this case, Little Elm PD received a tip on February 13 that helped lead investigators to the missing girl, according to a news release.
They discovered that she had been communicating with someone online and by phone, Little Elm police said. Using that phone number, they were able to identify a suspect, Richard S. Laird of San Antonio.
Employing various investigative methods, detectives learned that Laiard operated a trucking company out of Dallas.
Together with officers from Dallas Police Department, Little Elm detectives were able to locate a semi-truck belonging to Laird on February 14. They allegedly found the missing teen in its cab.
According to Little Elm PD, Laird, 58, was taken into custody without incident when he returned to the truck.
While the teenager has been returned home to her family after receiving medical attention, Laird is being held on a $500,000 bond at Denton County Jail, police said.
As per the release, Laird faces one count of aggravated kidnapping as well as nine counts of sexual assault of a child.
According to the latest daily violent crime report from Dallas PD, there have been 64 sex offenses reported this year across the city. Nationwide, a sexual assault happens every 68 seconds, according to the nonprofit RAINN, and that victim is a child every nine minutes. Very few perpetrators of sexual violence — roughly 25 out of 1,000 — end up behind bars.
