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KANAB — An Arizona man has been arrested in southern Utah and accused of kidnapping a 12-year-old girl.
Liam G. Wallace, 27, of Phoenix, was charged Thursday in 6th District Court with child kidnapping, a first-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
On Tuesday, the Kane County Sheriff's Office was notified of a possible abduction of a young girl. Police in Arizona had contacted Utah law enforcers and told them that Wallace's phone was pinging near Big Water.
Wallace's vehicle was spotted parked along U.S. 89. Wallace and the girl were found inside after Wallace "lied about the child's presence, and again about her age, claiming she was 19," according to charging documents. "The child's parents did not give permission to (Wallace) to detain or transport the child. The child disclosed that (he) had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions as they traveled through neighboring states."
The girl told officers that "she had left with Liam the previous Friday. She said she had gone to Vegas with him," a police booking affidavit states. "I asked what had happened to her cellphone and she said she had thrown it off of a bridge in Arizona so that they wouldn't be tracked."
Officers noted in the affidavit that they learned from Arizona investigators that "Liam had allegedly been involved trafficking two young children from another state to Arizona in the last few weeks. I was told by the detective that the children were picked up by Phoenix police and that they would have charges on Liam regarding those children. Arizona was also working on an arrest warrant."
