Texas authorities said a man whose teenage daughter was kidnapped on Christmas Day found the girl by using his cellphone’s parental controls, which included a location-sharing app.
According to a news release from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Giovanni Rosales Espinoza, 23, of Porter, Texas, was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child.
On Dec. 25 at about 4:50 p.m. CT, deputies responded to a call about a kidnapping involving a 15-year-old girl in the Houston suburb of Porter, the sheriff’s office said.
The girl had gone outside to walk the family dog, authorities said. When she did not return, her parents used the parental controls on their phones to locate the girl’s position.
The teen’s father traveled to a secluded, partially wooded area in Harris County, nearly two miles from their home, and found his daughter and her dog inside a maroon pickup truck with a partially nude adult male, the sheriff’s office said.
The man helped his daughter escape and then contacted authorities.
Investigators determined the suspect had threatened the teen with a knife and abducted her from the street. Witnesses at the scene also provided a detailed description of Espinoza’s vehicle, which helped deputies find him.
“Christmas is a day meant for joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child,” Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was swiftly apprehended and is now off our streets.”
Authorities did not reveal the name of the teen or her father. Porter is located approximately 28 miles north of downtown Houston.
Espinoza is currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail with no bond.
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