A 13-year-old girl missing from her San Antonio, Texas, home was found by Ruston Police on a traffic stop late Sunday night, potentially interrupting a case of child trafficking.
Kevin Mercedes Sevilla Ballesteros, 23, of Indianapolis, Ind., was stopped about 10:00 p.m. Sunday night after a Ruston patrol officer spotted a vehicle traveling the wrong way on Trenton Street.
The 13-year-old female in the car was listed as an endangered missing person from San Antonio who disappeared from near her home Saturday.
Ruston Police learned Ballesteros drove from Indianapolis to San Antonio after the two met on Facebook. The girl’s cell phone was being tracked in Texas.
The news media in Texas publicized the girl’s disappearance extensively Sunday at the request of San Antonio Police. She was reported to have a medical condition that required attention. Her mother told a San Antonio TV station that her daughter’s phone was pinged in Nacogdoches, Texas and that she appeared headed into Louisiana.
Ballesteros told Ruston Police he thought the girl was 17 and that he was taking her to “Carolina” to “work.” He was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for simple kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
Bail was set at $450,000.
The girl is now back with her family.
