Missing 16-year-old found in 53-year-old man’s car during traffic stop, NC cops say

A missing teenager was located by state troopers more than 100 miles away from where she was last seen, North Carolina police said.

The 16-year-old was reported missing by her family at about 7 p.m. on Feb. 8, according to a Feb. 12 Thomasville Police Department news release. She was found in a Trinity man’s car traveling on an interstate, police said.

The girl’s family grew worried when she didn’t return home from high school that day, per the department.

An initial investigation into the girl’s disappearance led detectives to believe she was abducted by a non-related family acquaintance, police said. Information on the man’s vehicle was shared across several states, according to the department.

A North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle on I-95 passing through Johnston County on Feb. 9, which turned out to be the suspect’s car, authorities said.

The missing girl was inside the vehicle uninjured and taken out safely by troopers, police said. She has been reunited with her family, according to the department.

The 53-year-old was arrested and charged with abduction of a minor, according to the department.

The man was booked in Davidson County Jail and placed under a $45,000 bond, police said.

Thomasville is about 25 miles southwest of Greensboro.

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