A 17-year-old girl from the Gila River Indian Community was found in Iowa after being missing for 10 days. The FBI has arrested a man she met there, according to the Gila River Police Department.
The girl was reported missing on August 6 after disappearing from Bapchule, a community south of Chandler.
Gila River police said in a news release that the girl had allegedly bought a ticket from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to Des Moines, Iowa, to meet a man she had been talking to online.
Because of serious concerns for the girl’s safety, the Gila River Police Department and the FBI worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Iowa to find her, the news release stated.
On Friday afternoon, the girl was found in Ankeny, Iowa, with 20-year-old Malachi Reed, who was arrested by the FBI. His charges are still pending, according to the news release.
The quick response and coordination of all involved agencies show our commitment to addressing the nationwide Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis, said Jesse Crabtree, the police chief of the Gila River Police Department.