A Christmas afternoon in Texas turned into a frantic race against time when a father followed his teenage daughter’s phone signal into a wooded area and pulled her from a pickup truck where deputies say she was being held at knifepoint.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched around 4:50 p.m. on Christmas Day to a home in Porter, northeast of Houston, after a 15-year-old girl was reported kidnapped.
The call came after the teenager failed to return from what had been a routine walk with her dog, prompting growing alarm inside her family’s home.
Deputies learned that the girl had gone outside earlier in the day, something she had done before without incident.
When more time passed than usual and there was no sign of her return, her parents began trying to locate her.
Using parental control features tied to the girl’s phone, her father was able to determine where the device was pinging.
“Upon arrival, deputies learned that the victim had taken her dog out for a walk and when she did not return at her usual time, her parents became concerned,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
“Using parental controls to locate the victim’s phone, her father traveled to a secluded, partially wooded area in Harris County nearly 2 miles away.”
That location led him away from his neighborhood and into an isolated stretch of land.
According to investigators, what he found there immediately confirmed his worst fears.
“The father located the victim and her dog inside a maroon-colored pickup truck with a partially nude 23-year-old male,” they commented.
“The father helped his daughter escape from the truck and contacted law enforcement.”
Deputies said the suspect had forcibly taken the girl off the street earlier and threatened her with a knife.
Investigators later identified the man as Giovanni Rosales-Espinoza, a Porter resident.
An initial investigation determined that Rosales-Espinoza “had threatened the victim with a knife and abducted her from the street,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Once the father alerted authorities and provided a description of the suspect and the vehicle, deputies began searching the surrounding area.
Using information gathered from witnesses, law enforcement officers tracked Rosales-Espinoza down and arrested him without resistance.
He was taken into custody and booked into jail, where he remains held without bond. Deputies said Rosales-Espinoza has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child.
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Sheriff Wesley Doolittle addressed the case publicly, framing it as a violent crime that unfolded on a day traditionally associated with family and celebration.
“Christmas is a day meant for joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child. I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was swiftly apprehended and is now off our streets,” Doolittle remarked.
“Rest assured that your Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant every hour of every day to keep your families safe.”
Federal officials later confirmed additional background details about the suspect.
The Department of Homeland Security said Rosales-Espinoza is a migrant from El Salvador who obtained legal permanent resident status more than a decade ago.
“Giovanni Enrique Rosales-Espinoza, a national from El Salvador, was granted a green card under the Obama Administration,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented to Breitbart.
“The crimes this alien are alleged to have committed are heinous: kidnapping a girl on Christmas is wicked.”
As the Montgomery County case moved forward, another troubling disappearance was unfolding elsewhere in Texas, raising concerns among investigators and family members during the holiday week.
In San Antonio, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said it was searching for a 19-year-old woman who vanished from outside her home early Christmas Eve morning.
Camila Mendoza Olmos was last seen around 6:58 a.m. leaving her residence in the 11000 block of Caspian Spring, according to deputies.
Authorities said Mendoza Olmos had a familiar routine of going on morning walks, something her family initially believed she was doing when she stepped outside.
“Camila’s mother stated that Camila normally goes for a morning walk; however, she became concerned when Camila did not return within a reasonable period of time,” the Sheriff’s Office commented.
Surveillance footage from the residence provided investigators with only limited insight into what happened next.
Deputies said the video shows a person believed to be Mendoza Olmos searching inside her vehicle for something shortly before disappearing from view.
“Video footage from that time shows an unknown individual, believed to be Camila, searching inside her vehicle for an unidentified item. Moments later, the footage ends. It is believed that she left the residence on foot, as her vehicle remained at the location,” deputies added.
“The only items known to be on her person are her car key and possibly her driver’s license.”
Mendoza Olmos’ mother, Rosario Olmos, described the moment she realized something was wrong. She told KENS5 that her daughter’s phone had been left behind.
“I called her cell phone, but the cell phone was there on the bed and it was turned off,” she said.
She described going out to search the surrounding area herself, convinced at first that she would simply find her daughter walking nearby.
“I put it to charge and went out to look for her. I thought I would find her like other times, walking, and we would come home together,” she said.
As the hours passed without answers, Rosario Olmos turned to faith.
“I only ask God to please bring her back home,” she said. “Bring her back to me.”
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office released a physical description of Mendoza Olmos, saying she is about 5-feet 4-inches tall and weighs roughly 110 pounds.
She was last seen wearing a baby blue and black hoodie, baby blue pajama bottoms and white shoes.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said investigators believe the missing woman is in serious danger.
Authorities described Mendoza Olmos as being “in imminent danger,” Salazar said, adding that the scope of the investigation has expanded rapidly.
Federal agencies are now assisting local deputies. Salazar said the FBI is providing technical support, while the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring border crossings and international travel.
“We definitely don’t want to miss anything,” Salazar said, according to ABC News. “The ground search is somewhat limited to a couple of square miles.”
“We’re also not ruling out that this case may take us outside the borders of the continental United States,” he added.
Salazar said he personally confirmed that Mendoza Olmos had not been taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite her being an American citizen.
“That was a personal concern. So, I had it checked to make sure that there were no stops, no detentions, and that she’s not somewhere in a federal detention facility. That is something we needed to check,” he noted.
The sheriff also said investigators learned that Mendoza Olmos had recently gone through a romantic breakup, though he described it as amicable.
He said friends and family members close to her have been cooperating fully with deputies.
Investigators have not ruled out any possibilities in her disappearance, including the chance that she was abducted or targeted for human trafficking.
Authorities noted that the northwest Bexar County area where she vanished is considered a known human trafficking corridor.
