ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. – A 15-year-old girl is now safe with her family after being abducted and found in Michigan, but social media could have led to her disappearance.
On Monday, deputies were alerted that the teen was missing from the Goose Creek Road area of Rockbridge County. During the investigation, deputies and investigators were able to conduct several social media and internet service search warrants to locate her.
Chris Young, an investigator with the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office, said the collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the search warrants helped to determine where the teenager was.
“We were able to get some information from some social media accounts that could give us a better of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance,” Young said. “Ultimately through some partnerships with Virginia State Police, the FBI, and ultimately the Kalamazoo Police Department, we were able to locate that juvenile.”
While social media helped investigators locate the teen, Young warned parents to watch for suspicious behavior on their children’s phones to prevent more cases like this from happening.
“Parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing on these social media platforms because this was an instance where it originated from social media,” Young said.
Being a parent himself, Young said he knows his team works countless hours to solve cases, especially when it comes to a child.
“I hope if something like this were to ever happen to my kid, I’d have a team like this working to find him,” Young said.
The investigation is still ongoing and there could be more charges filed.