Two men face charges following the activation of an AMBER Alert in eastern North Carolina in response to a reported missing teenager.
According to WTVD, an ABC affiliate, Elihue Martin Mahler, 32, from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Austyn Lee Cole, 24, from Kitty Hawk, are facing serious charges. The charges include felony human trafficking of a child victim, felony kidnapping, felony conspiracy to kidnap, and felony conspiracy related to human trafficking.
The 15-year-old girl went missing from Harnett County on Wednesday morning. According to WTVD, she was discovered on Thursday morning in Dare County, which is located along the coast.
According to the FBI, the teenager had met one of the suspects online before going missing from her home in Spring Lake.
Philip VanWyngarden, an FBI assistant special agent in charge, emphasized during a press conference on Thursday that cases like this focus less on the child’s geographic location or upbringing and more on predators who specifically target children in the online realm.
“Wherever children are on the internet, predators will find them on the internet,” VanWyngarden said.
Cole and Mahler are currently in custody in Harnett County, as stated in an incarceration report. Cole’s bond has been set at $1 million, while Mahler’s bond is set at $1.5 million.