SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A Colorado man is awaiting extradition from Utah after police say he told a 11-year-old girl on social media he wanted to marry her and abducted her from her California home.
Joshua Michael Stehle, 29, of Colorado, could face several first-degree felony charges including kidnapping, false imprisonment, lewd and lascivious acts with a child, contacting a minor with intent for sex, and arranging/going to a meeting with a minor.
He is currently in Sevier County Jail in Richfield, Utah, awaiting extradition to Kern County in California.
Kern County authorities say a woman called around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, March 17, to report her 11-year-old daughter was missing. She said the child must have left the Bakersfield residence barefoot because her shoes were left behind.
Police searched the area but were unable to locate the 11-year-old. California detectives then met with the girl’s friends, who told them she “was in a dating relationship with an unknown adult male possibly in his 30s, who was residing in Utah,” the warrant read.
“Detectives learned [the victim] had communicated with the unknown adult male via social media. [The victim] told her friends that the unknown adult male who lived in Utah wanted to pick up [the victim] and marry her,” the warrant said.
Police say they later found evidence supporting these claims after finding significant interaction between the victim and a telephone number belonging to Stehle.
Family members allegedly told police the 11-year-old had a missed call from an unknown Colorado number several days prior to the possible abduction and told her family “it was her friend ‘Simon’ from Utah.”
Detectives were able to track Stehle’s device and locate him near Salina, Utah, where local officials arrested him and placed him into custody at the Sevier County Jail several hours after the initial report. Officials say he had a firearm with him.
The girl was taken into the custody of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services and then reunited with her family in California.
After the victim returned to California, she told police she had been communicating with the man over Snapchat messaging and video calls. Police say he had allegedly taken her from her home at around 4 a.m.
While driving, the victim said Stehle threw her phone out the window so law enforcement would not be able to track them. Police say he pulled over at one point and sexually assaulted her. He also allegedly “placed a ring on [the victim’s] finger” and called it a ‘promise ring’ saying he would marry her when she turned 18.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Police originally described the victim as a 10-year-old girl. The story has been corrected to reflect her actual age of 11 years old.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
