CASS COUNTY, Ind. — Law enforcement in northeast Missouri arrested five men accused of kidnapping a Cass County teenage girl.
According to court documents, officers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol were informed shortly before 2 a.m. on June 17 that an active search was underway to locate a 14-year-old girl who was reported as missing from Cass County.
The girl’s father had reportedly witnessed the young girl enter a vehicle that was later determined to be a black Dodge Durango with unknown registration. The father contacted the Logansport Police Department and reported his daughter as missing.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office then notified troopers that the missing girl’s cell phone had pinged from a suspect vehicle with Texas registration and was traveling westbound on U.S. 36 near Hannibal, Missouri.
A short time later, a trooper saw an SUV matching the description and initiated a traffic stop in Macon County, Missouri. During the stop, the trooper reportedly observed a girl in the backseat of the vehicle who identified herself as the missing teen. The trooper then removed the juvenile and placed her in the patrol vehicle.
The trooper, with assistance from the Macon Sheriff’s Office, brought the following men into custody:
- Marlon Aguilar of Honduras
- Arturo Eustaquio of Mexico
- Noe Guzman Hernandez of Mexico
- Daniel Ruiz Lopez of Mexico
- Carlos Funez of Honduras
All five were transported to the Macon County Jail and have been formally charged with felony counts of kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to court documents, authorities believe the men were transporting the young girl to California.