Ann Arbor man charged with kidnapping of 12-year-old in Iowa Amber Alert case
A Michigan man has been arrested over the circumstances leading to an Amber Alert issued on April 5 for a 12-year-old girl missing in Iowa.
The missing girl was found in Southwest Michigan and is safe, according to the Waterloo (Iowa) Police Department, which is investigating the case.
The Amber Alert program is operated by local and state agencies, with the intention of getting the public's attention regarding children who are missing and believed to be in dangerous circumstances.
In this situation, the 12-year-old girl went missing about 12:30 p.m. on April 5, after having last been seen in the city of Waterloo. Investigators learned she had left the area with a man who was driving a red Toyota Camry and had a partial description of the suspect.
Her cell phone was recovered along Interstate 380 in Mt. Auburn, Iowa, and police said they believed she was in danger.
The Amber Alert notice issued in Iowa asked for anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact Waterloo Police detectives or the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers. About 7:59 p.m. that day, about an hour after the State of Iowa Amber Alert was issued, Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers said she had been found.
Waterloo police explained that law enforcement found the suspect's vehicle in Coloma Township, Berrien County, Michigan. The 12-year-old girl was also found safe at that location.
After further investigation, Waterloo police said they have charged a 23-year-old man from Ann Arbor, Michigan, with second-degree kidnapping, indecent contact with a child and sexual exploitation of a minor. He was taken into custody and booked at the Berrien County Jail in Michigan, pending further proceedings.
Iowa's Amber Alert procedures, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, can only be requested by law enforcement. They are intended for the safe recovery of those under age 18 who have been abducted or whose circumstances indicate that the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.
The above video originally aired on Jan. 16, 2023.
