A Marine was detained last month after a missing 14-year-old girl was found in the barracks of a California base camp, authorities said.
Military police at Camp Pendleton — a Marine Corps base in Oceanside, California — found the teen on June 28, just over two weeks after her grandmother reported her missing to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, according to Melissa Aquino, a media relations officer with the sheriff’s department.
Captain Charles Palmer, communications strategy and operations director of the 1st Marine Logistics Group, confirmed in a statement that an unidentified “Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group was taken into custody for questioning by Naval Criminal Investigative Services,” the law enforcement agency of the Navy and Marine Corps, on June 28.
Palmer added that the Marine was detained and remains in the custody of his command, and that he has not yet been formally charged.
“This command takes this matter and all allegations very seriously,” Palmer added.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force are also “supporting NCIS with the investigation,” said Aquino, of the sheriff’s office.
Representatives for the California Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to inquiries Sunday morning about the involvement of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force in the investigation.
The news was first reported by NBC station KNSD of San Diego.
According to Aquino, from the sheriff’s department, the girl’s grandmother reported her missing on June 13 and said she had run away from home four days earlier. The grandmother also said that the girl had run away before but always returned home quickly, Aquino said.
Authorities entered the girl’s information into missing person databases including that of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to information from the sheriff’s office.
The teen was subsequently returned to her grandmother, according to Aquino, who added that detectives interviewed the teen and the family was “offered services.” The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a follow-up question seeking more detail about what kind of services the family was offered.
The girl has not been publicly identified. A statement from the sheriff’s office said the department does not release identifying information about victims who are minors.
Jeff Houston, a spokesperson for NCIS, said in a statement: “Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS does not comment on, confirm details relating to, or confirm the existence of ongoing investigations.”
Lieutenant David LaDieu, media relations director for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, said in a statement that NCIS is handling the investigation and that “the only involvement we have had is the recovering the juvenile as she was listed missing from our jurisdiction.”The Teen Line provides peer-based support from trained teenagers who are available every evening to field calls and texts. Call 310-855-HOPE (4673), or toll-free at 800-TLC-TEEN from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, or text TEEN to 839863 from 3 and 6 p.m. ET. Teen Line also responds to emails and has a message board.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline can be reached toll-free 24 hours a day at 1-888-373-7888. Support is available in more than 200 languages. The hotline can also be reached by texting BEFREE to 233733. Authorities urge those who suspect trafficking to also contact local police.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
