In a riveting turn of events, a 13-year-old girl from Texas, who was abducted at gunpoint, has been safely rescued in California, Your Content has learned.
The teen’s life was saved due to her quick thinking and a keen-eyed good Samaritan. The rescuer noticed a ‘Help Me!’ sign, a silent cry for help, that the girl held up in a car window.
On July 9, the girl, whose identity has been kept confidential, was found in a vehicle at the Easy Wash Laundromat in Long Beach. This event occurred three days after her alleged kidnapping by Steven Sablan, 61, hailing from Cleburne, Texas.
The suspect, who drove across the US from San Antonio to Long Beach for an estimated 19 hours, has been arrested and faces charges of kidnapping and intent to commit a criminal sexual act with a minor.
According to police reports, the good Samaritans observed the girl displaying a ‘Help Me!’ note while in a parked vehicle in the laundromat’s lot. Regular patrons of the establishment, they promptly alerted the authorities by dialing 9-1-1.
Sablan is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA. Information about his legal representation is not available at this moment.
The affidavit stated that the teen was forcibly taken while walking down a street in San Antonio on July 6, as Sablan threatened her with a black handgun. The young girl reportedly left home unannounced, intending to visit a school friend who had relocated to Australia. Tragically, Sablan misled her with the promise of a trip to Australia via a cruise ship but assaulted her multiple times during their cross-country journey.
Authorities were alerted of the girl’s disappearance by her mother on July 7. Once in Long Beach, Sablan instructed the girl to change her clothes at the laundromat, creating an opportunity for her to craft the ‘Help Me’ sign.
The arresting officers arrived to find Sablan outside the vehicle while the girl silently mouthed the word ‘help.’ A search of Sablan’s person revealed silver handcuffs, and he was found to have a prior warrant for burglary in Fort Worth. Further investigation of the vehicle yielded the discovery of a black BB gun, the ‘Help Me’ sign, a switchblade knife, and additional handcuffs.
The document further reveals that Sablan had previous convictions for robbery with a deadly weapon in 1979, the same along with burglary in 1985, and possession of a controlled substance in 2016.
As of now, the girl is safe and under the care of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, according to KTLA5.