Men given $5M bond each after Harnett County teen found safe after AMBER Alert was issued
LILLINGTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats said two people have been charged in connection with an AMBER Alert issued Wednesday for a missing teen.
Coats made the announcement at a Thursday afternoon media briefing.
Elihue Martin Mahler, 31, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and 23-year-old Austyn Lee Cole of Kitty Hawk, face charges of felony human trafficking of a child victim, felony kidnapping, felony conspiracy to kidnap, and felony conspiracy, human trafficking.
The 15-year-old girl was found Thursday morning in Dare County along the North Carolina coast. She has not yet been reunited with her family, Coats said.
"It is heartfelt for me that we were able to get this young lady back to her family so quickly, and hopefully she will be back this afternoon," Coats said. "My understanding is she'll be reunited with her mother later this afternoon."
Mahler and Cole each made their first appearance on Friday and had different reactions to the district attorney who described how they allegedly planned to bring the teen from Spring Lake, to Kitty Hawk, where Cole resides.
"It is clear that Mr. Cole had every intention of having the juvenile in his custody," District Attorney Suzanne Matthews said.
Mahler verbally denied the claims to the judge, while Cole shook his head during his appearance.
The DA said investigators are still working to find out what exactly happened during the two days from when Mahler allegedly took the teen from Spring Lake and traveled by car to Kitty Hawk.
According to authorities, Mahler has a lengthy criminal history in Virginia, including fleeing to elude and assault on a law enforcement officer, while Cole's history is not as "substantial."
However, both men were considered flight risks and the judge increased their bonds to $5 million each.
Mahler told the judge he'll represent himself while Cole requested a court-appointed attorney.
Both men are scheduled to appear in court next on March 11.
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Coats said the teen appeared to have no injuries but was being evaluated at a hospital. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that the teen met one of the suspects online before vanishing from her home in Spring Lake and being found hundreds of miles away.
"No minor goes willing," said Philip VanWyngarden, FBI assistant special agent. "Anytime you got a minor engaging with a predator online and they do something in the real world, or for that matter they do something online, they are minors - they're victims ... they're being manipulated."
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VanWyngarden said the FBI and other agencies used technology to find the teen Thursday morning.
Members of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Criminal Apprehension Team used electronic and other advanced surveillance techniques and gathered information indicating that the teen had been taken to Virginia Beach and Kitty Hawk.
With the help of the Kitty Hawk Police Department, state and federal agents found the teen at a home in Kitty Hawk.
He added that this case is a reminder to all parents to look at their children's devices and conduct spot checks that everything is above board.
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"Wherever children are on the Internet, predators will find them on the Internet," he said. "Our children are extremely technically savvy, oftentimes, maybe more so than we are. What they lack is the world experience and the decision-making skills to understand consequences of these sorts of engagements."
Authorities said that after an investigation found information to meet the criteria for the state, an official request for an AMBER Alert was sent on Wednesday morning.
The alert was issued and an emergency alert was sent to phones two hours later, around 1 p.m.
According to authorities, a new vendor last week caused a slight delay in the phone alerts, but there was no delay in sharing with the public.
