Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to remove the identity of the teen, including the removal of a photo and video.
DENVER (KDVR) — A suspect is in custody after an Amber Alert was issued on Tuesday morning for a missing 16-year-old girl who was later found safe.
The Amber Alert was issued after 6 a.m. on Tuesday for a 16-year-old who, at the time, had been last seen on Monday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. in Boulder. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said she was seen being “forced” into a two-door grey truck. On Tuesday, just before 11:30 a.m., the bureau said the girl had been found safely.
The agency said that patrol officers followed up on several leads, including that the pair knew each other, and used Flock license plate cameras to find the possible suspect. Officers coordinated with CBI to send alerts, initially sending a missing and endangered alert at nearly midnight on Monday, before sending out the Amber Alert just after 6 a.m.
The agency said numerous community tips were received and said that Flock technology allowed detectives to retrace the suspect’s movement and led detectives to additional witnesses and ultimately found the victim and suspect in Thornton.
“We’re so thankful this young woman was found safe and unharmed after we received such a scary call initially,” Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said in an agency release. “Our officers and detectives worked tirelessly all night following up on every lead, from interviewing witnesses to using Flock cameras to determine where this suspect could be. We greatly appreciate both our partners at Thornton Police who helped us take the suspect into custody and our representatives at Flock who proactively reached out to us to ensure we could use all aspects of their platform to gather information that led us to this successful conclusion.”
The bureau said in the Amber Alert that the truck was believed to be driven by 19-year-old Juan Manuel Bretado-Lopez. The bureau said there was believed to be another unknown male suspect in that truck who took the girl.
The Boulder Police Department said in an evening update that Bretado-Lopez was detained and transported to the police department, where the investigation is ongoing and interviews are being conducted. The agency did not say what possible charges could be filed.
The Boulder Police Department said the girl had been last seen at her residence on 19th Street around 8:30 p.m. on Monday. At the time, police said they believed she was in danger, and she didn’t willingly get into the truck, which they describe as a cream or white 2007 Chevy Silverado.
The truck had been last seen at 8:57 p.m. on Monday near Thornton Parkway and Gale Boulevard in Thornton, according to the bureau.
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