Missing Florida teen found, man arrested during NC traffic stop

NASH COUNTY, N.C. — A man from Florida faces multiple charges, including child abduction, after being stopped by Nash County Deputies on I-95 in North Carolina.

Channel 9 partners at WTVD News in Raleigh reported that deputies with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation after Alejandro Hernandez Vasquez was pulled over for a traffic violation around midnight on Tuesday.

During questioning, deputies told WTVD they became suspicious and asked Vasquez to search his car. After searching the vehicle, deputies learned the 16-year-old passenger was reported missing from Coral Springs, Florida.

The 16-year-old was taken into the custody of police and held at the Wake County Juvenile Detention Center until her relatives could come up from Florida to pick her up, WTVD reports.

According to deputies, the family didn’t know Vazquez, and he did not have permission to take the teen across state lines.

“The 16-year-old willfully went with him, which is what we’re seeing at first glance in this investigation,” Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told WTVD. “It was not like she was bound in the car and things of that nature, but you know, it’s a young 16-year-old and a grown man, and he’s manipulated her and carried her across this country. This is a true case of child trafficking.”

WTVD reports that officers also found illegal drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids, in Vazquez’s car.

Vazquez is currently being held at the Wake County Detention Center under a $500,000 bond, including another $5,000 bond for drug violations, WTVD says.

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