Missing teenager found, truck driver arrested and charged with kidnapping

A truck driver from southeast Dallas has been arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping after police found a missing teenager in the cab of his vehicle. Little Elm Police Department.

On Sunday, February 12, officers responded to a critical missing person report of a 16-year-old girl missing from her home in South Paloma Creek. An extensive search was conducted, police said, which consisted of foot patrols, vehicle searches, drones and tracking dogs.

The dogs tracked the missing girl near her home, where they subsequently lost track of the teen, leading detectives to believe she got into the car. A ‘Be Alert’ (BOLO) bulletin was sent out to law enforcement across the country listing the missing teenager as missing and endangered.

On the evening of February 13, detectives obtained the phone number that the missing minor had used before leaving the house. Little Elm Detectives identified the potential suspect and the vehicle using several open source information databases, cameras and various investigative tools. They identified the suspect as Richard S. Laird of San Antonio.

In addition, detectives learned that Laird had interacted online with the minor prior to her disappearance and that Laird was a truck driver from the southeast. Dallas. Detectives drove to the scene and were able to locate the semi-trailer driven by Laird and found the teenager in the cab of the truck.

By the time Laird got back to his car, the detectives and officers from Dallas Police Department provided assistance to the victim.

He was taken into custody without incident and is currently in the Denton County Jail on charges of aggravated kidnapping with $500,000 bail. In addition, detectives issued nine additional warrants for child sexual abuse. He was not brought to trial on these charges.

The minor was reunited with her family after an examination and medical examination. To protect her privacy, as she is a minor and suspected of sexual assault, the teen’s name was not included in this story.