A missing 13-year-old girl from Dallas was found locked in a shed on Friday, more than 1,000 miles away in Lexington, North Carolina, according to local authorities.
The victim, who has been identified as Kaylin Rodriguez, went missing on March 1, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Kidnappings and abductions have been on the rise in Dallas in recent months, with the number of reported incidents spiking by 24% year-to-date, in tandem with a broader increase in violent crime that City officials cannot seem to check, according to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard.
At approximately 5 p.m. CT on March 10, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the FBI Violent Crime Taskforce in Texas about a possible abduction.
Rodriguez was later located in the Davidson County shed, according to a news release shared on Twitter.
Authorities in Lexington said the teen met her alleged abductor, whom the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office identified as Jorge Ivan Santos Camacho, through a social media app called Discord, according to WFAA reporter Matt Howerton.
“The content of the chat was consistent with grooming and enticement,” according to the release.
Investigators said surveillance video near the girl’s home in Dallas captured a suspect vehicle with plates registered to an address in Davidson County.
Officials from the FBI’s field office in Greensboro worked with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office to pull over Camacho for an unspecified traffic violation.
Authorities learned during the stop that the missing juvenile was being held in an outbuilding in Lexington belonging to the suspect, the release stated.
Investigators and the Davidson County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team surrounded the suspect’s home, located in the 10000 block of Linwood Southmont Road. Upon entering the shed, where they found Rodriguez, who did not appear to have any physical injuries, according to the release.
Authorities took Camacho into custody and charged him with multiple offenses. He was taken to the Davidson County Detention Center, where his bond is $1.25 million.
The teen was evaluated at a nearby hospital and was then transported back to Texas, police said.
The Dallas Police Department and the FBI Violent Crime Taskforce worked in conjunction with authorities in North Carolina to recover the juvenile.
The investigation is ongoing.
