Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- A high-speed chase in Bountiful ended with the recovery of a missing girl.
- Police said the 12-year-old girl was abducted by a man she met online.
- The suspect was arrested, and the girl was safely returned to her family.
BOUNTIFUL — A high-speed chase that ended in a crash led to the recovery of a girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert Sunday morning. The driver who was arrested was someone police say the girl had met online.
About 12:21 a.m. Sunday, Bountiful police responded to a call of an alleged child abduction around 400 W. 200 North. When officers arrived, they were told a 12-year-old girl had "been taken by a Hispanic male believed to be in his 20s," according to a statement from police.
Investigators later found out the girl met the man on social media.
Family members told police the girl left her house late Saturday night. When they noticed she had been gone a while, some of them found a 2011 white Chevrolet Camaro they weren't familiar with in their driveway.
"They knocked on the window and inquired if their daughter was inside the car, at which point a Hispanic male jumped into the driver's seat of the car, and the car fled the area," said Bountiful Police Lt. Andrew Smith.
The family called the police, and an Amber Alert was issued around 7:50 a.m.
At 8:06 a.m., Bountiful police spotted the car near the girl's house. The driver then "began to drive erratically when officers began following, and a pursuit was initiated," according to the police statement.
The chase moved onto I-15 at high speeds and continued onto westbound I-215, police said. On I-215, "while attempting to navigate the overpass, the suspect vehicle ran into the back of a Woods Cross (police) vehicle, disabling both," the statement says.
The driver was taken into custody without incident, police said. He refused to give police his identity, but officers found a Glock 17 handgun on the floorboard of the Camaro.
A Woods Cross police officer suffered minor injuries in the crash and was treated at a hospital, Bountiful police said.
The girl was taken to a hospital for evaluation but did not appear to be injured, police said. She was returned to her family after nearly nine hours apart.
"You don't know if you're going to see your child again. You know, your child has just been taken by somebody who you don't know, and they're gone for a period of time, and you can only imagine what those parents are going through in thinking about what their daughter is going through," Smith said.
The Amber Alert was canceled at 8:27 a.m. by the Utah Department of Public Safety. Bountiful police were investigating Sunday night to determine the identity of the man they arrested.
Contributing: Alex Cabrero
