EAGLE MOUNTAIN — The Utah County Sheriff’s Office says a Florida man was arrested in Wyoming over the weekend after allegedly traveling from Florida to Utah to pick up a 17-year-old girl so he could marry her. The situation highlights the potential dangers of social media, police say.
Alex Pete Guy, 33, of Mulberry, Florida, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony.
An Eagle Mountain family reported Sunday that their 17-year-old daughter was missing. Investigators then learned from one of the girl’s friends that she had been speaking online to a man in his 30s, and “she was likely with him,” according to charging documents. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday added that the girl’s mother learned her daughter had been talking to Guy online for about three months.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were unable to track the teenager’s phone. However, using GPS data from the girl’s AirPods, they learned she was in Wyoming, according to court records. The sheriff’s office stated they were believed to be near a gas station in Rock Springs.
“Our deputies acted quickly getting into contact with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, who happen to have a trooper in the area,” according to Utah County.
“(Guy) was interviewed and indicated that he had been talking to (the teen) online for three months. (He) knew that (she) was 17-years old and planned to marry her. (Guy) flew from Florida to Utah to pick (her) up. (He) rented a rental car, picked up (the teen) from her home in Utah County without her parents’ knowledge or consent to marry her,” charging documents allege.
A warrant was issued on Monday in Utah for Guy’s arrest so he can be extradited to Utah County.
“Our team worked hard on this incident to be able to quickly locate and recover this missing teen. Our deputies worked the family, central dispatch, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol to recover the missing teen in about 2 1/2 hours after we were notified,” the sheriff’s office stated Wednesday.
“This incident also highlights the potential dangers of social media; during the investigation it was learned that Alex Guy had been in communications with the teen for about 3 months prior to this weekend. … Talk with your children about the potential dangers of communicating with unknown parties on internet. We are all fortunate and grateful that this incident had the outcome it did,” the office said.
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