BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – An 11-year-old girl from Bedford County was abducted and later found safe after communicating with a Florida man through an online game, authorities say.
Floridians Concetta Chavis and Alexander Baab were taken into custody when they were found with the girl. Both of them are now facing felony abduction charges.
Investigators quickly realized this wasn’t a random abduction, according to Bedford County Sheriff’s Captain Stephen Anders, who is also the head of Bedford’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
He said the girl was communicating with one of the suspects online prior to the incident.
[READ MORE: Two face felony abduction charges after Bedford County girl found in Florida]
“What we ended up finding was that she had been communicating with one of the subjects through Roblox, which is a popular game for young people,” said Captain Anders.
Virginia State Police put out a missing/endangered alert Saturday afternoon for the girl, which left many asking “Why not an Amber Alert?”
10 News was told by Sheriff Mike Miller that not all the requirements were met for an Amber Alert to be issued.
Amber Alert requirements include:
- The abducted child must be 17 years of age or younger or currently enrolled in a secondary school in the Commonwealth,
- The law enforcement agency believes the missing child is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death,
- A law enforcement investigation has taken place that verified the abduction or eliminated alternative explanations,
- Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, and/or the suspect’s vehicle,
- The child must be entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing person files as soon as practical.
10 News asked Captain Anders how parents can protect their children from online predators like this.
“You have to have those conversations with your kids and they need to be ongoing conversations. It’s not a one-and-done. It has to be a continued conversation about the dangers and to let the kids know that if they find themselves in a bad situation, it’s ok to come to talk to us. You’re not going to get in trouble,” he said.
Captain Anders also suggested finding a parental control app to keep tabs on children’s internet use.