A 14-year-old girl reported missing last month was found in a barracks at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton outside San Diego.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said the girl was reported missing on June 13 by her grandmother, who said she’d disappeared on June 9, KNSD reported. The grandmother said the girl had run away from home before but had always returned home quickly, sheriff’s department media relations office Melissa Aquino said.
Military police at Camp Pendleton, about 40 miles north of San Diego, found the girl, who reportedly has learning disabilities, on June 28 and contacted the sheriff’s department.
Aquino said that the sheriff’s department and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force are assisting the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in its probe of the incident. Captain Chuck Palmer of the 1st Marine Logistics Group said that a Marine was taken into custody and questioned about his involvement with the girl on June 28, but he provided no further information.
“We can confirm that a Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group was taken into custody for questioning by Naval Criminal Investigative Services on June 28, 2023, as seen on social media July 2, 2023,” Palmer said. “The incident is under investigation, and we will continue to cooperate with NCIS and appropriate authorities.”
The Marine has not been identified or charged, Palmer said, but is still in custody. NCIS declined to comment, saying it “does not comment on, confirm details relating to, or confirm the existence of ongoing investigations.”
The girl’s family is demanding a release of information and a transparent investigation.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: FILE – AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File]
