(Seguin) — A missing Guadalupe County juvenile has been safely recovered, and an 18-year-old Kaufman County man has been arrested on felony charges following an investigation into the juvenile’s disappearance.
The Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, located the juvenile Monday in Kaufman County. Officials arrested 18-year old Blake D. Teal, of Forney. Teal was arrested on several outstanding Guadalupe County warrants for sexual assault of a child and harboring a runaway.
Officials say investigation began the morning of July 22, when Guadalupe County deputies responded to a report of a missing and runaway juvenile from the 100 block of Hancock Lane in New Braunfels. Family members reported that the girl had disappeared during the overnight hours. They said she had recently met an adult male online. And They believed she might be with him.
Investigators immediately began working to locate the juvenile, interviewing family members and friends and obtaining subpoenas and search warrants for social media platforms.
Soon after Investigators managed to obtain surveillance video showing the juvenile and Teal together at a New Braunfels-area pawn shop several days after she was reported missing.
Investigators say they were also able to identify multiple social media accounts associated with the juvenile and Teal.
With assistance from DPS Criminal Investigations Division investigators, authorities say they located the juvenile in Kaufman County on Monday and recovered her safely.
Teal was located, arrested and transported to the Kaufman County Adult Detention Center. He currently awaits his return to Guadalupe County.