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New Haven resident Marcos Alex Mendez-Torres was taken into custody by Connecticut State Police on Wednesday, June 26 after also being arrested in the Orange County town of Montgomery, New York on Sunday, June 23 in connection with a kidnapping case involving a missing 15-year-old Connecticut girl, State Police announced on Thursday, June 27.
According to the State Police, the events of the alleged kidnapping began on Sunday around 4:25 a.m., when troopers responded to a Connecticut home after the resident reported a missing 15-year-old girl.
After meeting with the girl's parent, troopers learned that at around 4:15 a.m., they had realized the girl was missing from their residence and contacted her friend in hopes that they might have known where she was. The friend then told the parent that the missing girl had a "burner" phone with several social media accounts and that she had met and corresponded with an unknown person through these accounts.
The parent also told police that several days before the girl's disappearance, they had seen a white sedan driven by a white man in the area. This car had remained in the area for a long time before leaving, the parent told authorities.
Troopers then searched the area with help from a K9 team but were unable to find the girl.
After the search, troopers then met with the missing girl's friend, who told them that around two months before her disappearance, she had told them that she was in a relationship with a man she met on Snapchat. The missing girl had also shown her friend a picture of the man and told them that in one instance the man had driven to the area near her home and that sexual conduct had happened, according to State Police.
The missing girl's friend also told troopers that the man had threatened to break up with her because he "wanted more girls." The missing girl then tried appeasing the man by saying she would introduce him to her friend, police said.
When the girl's friend and the man began talking over Snapchat, he allegedly asked her to meet up to engage in sexual conduct. However, the girl's friend then became "disgusted" with the nature of the conversation and threatened to have him arrested. At this point, the man blocked her, according to authorities.
Although the girl's friend had communicated with the man, she never knew his real name or his phone number. She was able to provide a physical description, though.
Later in the day on Sunday, troopers spoke with the missing girl's neighbor, who also told them that they had seen a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood earlier in the month. The neighbor was able to take a photo of the vehicle and gave it to investigators, who identified it as a white Toyota Corolla bearing a Connecticut registration.
Using this information, police linked the car to Mendez-Torres and were able to determine his birthday using his driver's license, which matched his Snapchat username given by the missing girl's friend.
Around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, investigators then learned that Mendez-Torres' vehicle had been seen in the area of Middletown, New York and soon learned that his cell phone had been determined to be pinging in the area of Montgomery.
Police officers in Montgomery were then notified and were able to find the car on Maple Avenue, also finding Mendez-Torres. Montgomery Police also deployed a K9 team and found the girl, who had run into a wooded area, State Police said.
Mendez-Torres was arrested in Montgomery and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Additionally, Connecticut troopers also applied for and were granted a warrant for his arrest. After his arrest in New Haven on Wednesday, Mendez-Torres was charged with:
- Risk of injury to a minor;
- Second-degree kidnapping;
- Enticing a minor by interactive computer science.
He was then held on a $1,000,000 cash and surety bond and taken to the Hartford Correctional Center pending his arraignment at Middletown Superior Court on Thursday, June 27.
The investigation into the alleged kidnapping is ongoing. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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