The man accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl in Pueblo is suspected of kidnapping and sexually assaulting another girl the morning of the abduction.
Jose Garcia, 29, of Pueblo was taken into custody Friday afternoon, hours after the 9-year-old girl escaped and was reunited with her family.
On Friday, an arrest warrant was issued out of Pueblo County for Garcia, who is accused of kidnapping and sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust in a case that took place Thursday morning, according to state court records.
Garcia’s ex-girlfriend and her daughter live on the same block as the abducted girl’s family, Pueblo police said. Before lunch Thursday, the woman’s daughter was released from her school and returned to class soon after.
During that short time, police believe Garcia sexually assaulted the girl. They have not confirmed the girl’s relationship to Garcia or who checked her out of class.
Police started investigating Garcia that afternoon. Garcia is suspected of abducting his second victim as she walked home from school about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
About 9 a.m. Friday, she and Garcia were dropped off at a Colorado Springs convenience store after a man spotted the pair next to a broken-down truck and gave them a ride. The girl — with bruises and two black eyes — walked into the store ahead of Garcia and called 911.
Garcia fled but was arrested about 1 p.m.
Police would not say how Garcia knew the abducted girl.
About 12 hours after the girl was last seen, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an Amber Alert.
Before requesting an alert, police investigate whether the child left on his or her own, and local law enforcement has to make sure that the child is 17 or younger, is in immediate danger and there is enough descriptive information that an alert could aid in the child’s recovery, said Lance Clem, spokesman for the CBI.
Often it is difficult to obtain enough descriptive information, such as a vehicle description, Clem said.
On average, 797,500 children are reported missing in the U.S. each year — but less than 2 percent are considered “stereotypical” abductions, according to a 2002 U.S. Justice Department study. Stereotypical abductions are classified as abductions during which the child does not know or is of “slight acquaintance” with the abductor.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
