Sam Amico
A 13-year-old girl who went missing from Texas has been found safe in North Carolina, more than 1,000 miles away and locked in an outbuilding after being abducted.
Videos by Rare
Jorge Ivan Santos Camacho, 34, allegedly convinced the girl to join him after they met online, then drove her to North Carolina and kept her locked up. He has been charged with abduction, felonious restraint, human trafficking, statutory rape, statutory sex offense and “indecent liberties,” according to WGHP.
The outbuilding reportedly was located in Lexington, N.C., about 20 miles from Winston-Salem. Camacho is a resident of Lexington and Dallas police and the FBI said he kept the girl in a small shed on his property.
“They discovered that the juvenile had been communicating with an adult male through social media chat platforms,” Davidson County Sheriff Richie Simmons told reporters, via WFAA.
“The content of the chat was consistent with grooming and enticement, and he enticed her to leave home where he picked her up in the (Dallas) area.”
The teen’s mother told WFAA that the two met playing online video games and began to chat on Discord, an instant messaging platform.
“It was very stressful and scary,” the girl’s mother told WFAA. “We were hoping to see her again and thank God that was the case.”
Investigators said they received a tip about Camacho’s whereabouts after identifying him as a suspect, and conducted a traffic stop. They had previously matched his vehicle from the Dallas apartment complex from where the girl was taken via security footage.
Camacho’s neighbors in North Carolina said that the shed served as his bedroom, with a bed, television and cabinets inside, per WFAA. Others who lived on the property said they were unaware that Camacho had a girl inside.
Once the teen was rescued, she was taken to the hospital for medical examination, according to reports. Her mother said she knew the girl was an online gamer and also knew the girl’s Discord login.
“We knew the risks, and we talked with her about them,” the mother said. “But still this happened, it was something awful.
“It could have been a lot worse. It could have, and we’re lucky that it wasn’t.”
Discord released a statement to WFAA.
“Any type of content or activity that endangers or sexualizes children is appalling, unacceptable, and has no place on Discord or the internet at large,” the statement read. “We work relentlessly to keep bad actors off our service and we take the safety of all Discord users, especially our younger users, incredibly seriously. We extend our deepest sympathies to this individual and her family in this unbelievably challenging time. We have and continue to cooperate closely with law enforcement in their investigation of this terrible incident. Because this incident remains under investigation, we cannot provide further comment at this time.”
