A New York man was arrested on Thursday night in connection with a girl who disappeared on Wednesday. As of Friday morning, she still hasn’t been found.
ABC10 reports that authorities arrested 19-year-old George Torres and charged him with endangering the welfare of a child, in connection with the disappearance of 12-year-old Malaya Johnson. The girl was reportedly taken from Hudson Falls on Wednesday, near Oak Street. She was last seen Hudson Falls Middle School before she disappeared at around 3 p.m.
Police indicated on Thursday they were looking for two people in connection with Malaya’s disappearance. They located Torres and a passenger in his car, a red Ford Mustang sedan, but the passenger was questioned and released. They did not have Malaya in the vehicle with them. Investigators pinged the girl’s cellphone in Rockland County, near Sloatsburg, but there’s been no other evidence that she was in the area.
Malaya has long brown hair and brown eyes, stands 5-feet-tall and weighs around 115 pounds. She was wearing a white tank top and light red jeans when last seen, and carrying a light-colored backpack.
Washington County Sheriff Jeff Murphy said that although there is nothing yet that points to be Malaya being harmed, the unusual way in which she disappeared makes them feel “she’s in imminent danger of serious physical injury and/or death.”
Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at (518) 747-4623.
[Feature Photo: Malaya Johnson, New York State Police]