A 13-year-old girl was rescued from a motel room after she was lured by a 22-year-old man that she had met through social media.
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They were discovered in a dark room at a motel last week.
According to the Volusia Sherriff’s Office, a deputy that was looking for an Oak Hill Girl who went missing after school.
They were searching motels to motels until they finally found her in a dark room.
The girl was found with Tyler Thompson, who is from Orlando, USA.
Authorities said that Deputy Royce James was the one that carried out the search.
When they entered the motel room of the All Suite Motel at 335 N. Ridgewood Avenue in Edgewater, the 13-year-old girl ran into his arms and gave him a hug.
They were arrested on a charge of interference with child custody.
The Edgewater Police Department added a charge of traveling to meet after using a computer to lure a child.
Authorities said that additional charges are currently pending.
The girl also told the police that her stomach was hurting.
Thompson himself told the police that he was 22 years old.
The deputy found the teen after responding to a missing child report at around 6:15 on Thursday.
The grandmother of the little girl said that the girl never came back home and never attended her basketball game after school.
Deputy James started the investigation right away after speaking with the friend of a girl, who told them that she was going to a motel to meet someone.
She met him through the internet.
The Sherriff’s Office released a statement about the incident, saying:
A friend said she thought the man’s name started with a T, possibly Tyler, and that he was from Orlando. She said he may have picked up the victim at the Dollar General store in Oak Hill.
James then went to the Dollar general to look for security video.
He found surveillance images of the 13-year-old girl at the store.
An employee then confirmed to James that the girl was waiting to get picked up by someone.
The statement added:
James then started visiting area motels, showing the front desk clerks a photo of the missing girl and searching the day’s check-ins for a match.
At the third motel that Deputy James checked out, he noticed something suspicious.
He noticed a guest checked in under the name Tyler Thompson with an address out of Orlando.
Deputies went to his room and knocked several times before it was opened by Thompson himself.
After being rescued, the girl was brought to a local hospital.
She was also brought to a local Department of Children and Families facility for evaluation before she was brought back home.
Thompson was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail after posting $15,000 bail on his current charges.