HENRY COUNTY, Va. – Warrants and a criminal complaint filed against the 21-year-old man charged in connection with a Henry County abduction are painting a clearer picture of what led to her abduction last week.
Kaleb Merritt, 21, now faces three felony charges in connection with the abduction and his interactions with the girl.
On Feb. 11, investigators received a notice from the Discord app about the actions of the 12-year-old girl, according to warrants.
Investigators then reviewed messages from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10 between Merrit and the girl. The documents included explicit details about these messages, which 10 News has chosen not to report.
As we’ve previously reported, Merritt was staying in a tent in the woods near the girl’s house. The two initially met in December 2020 through Instagram.
The documents revealed that once Merritt knew police were involved, he told the girl to hide her phone, which she did in a saxophone case.
On Feb. 12, the girl’s great-grandmother reported her missing and said the girl left a note.
Authorities then issued an Amber Alert to help find the girl and bring her safely home.
A day later, authorities found the girl and Merrit in Henderson, North Carolina.
At this time, Merritt is still awaiting extradition and no court date has been set.