12-Year-Old Girl Escapes Captor After Being Kidnapped, Tied to a Bed for a Week

A 12-year-old girl who was kidnapped and tied to a bed for a week was found walking down a road in Alabama after escaping her captor. The girl chewed through her restraints, breaking her braces and fled the scene. Her captor has been identified as 37-year-old José Paulino Pascual-Reyes and authorities found two decomposing bodies inside the residence.

The kidnapping took place in Tallapoosa County, where the unnamed girl was discovered walking down Country Road 34 in Dadeville, Alabama, on Monday morning. The motorist who found the girl immediately called 911, and local authorities say that her disappearance had not been reported in the week since she was abducted.

The girl’s captor was arrested soon after. Authorities discovered two additional bodies in Reyes’ mobile home, which were both decomposed and butchered into small pieces, separated at the joints, reports CBS News.

One of the bodies was identified as Reyes’ girlfriend Sandra Vazquez Ceja, 29, who is believed to have been smothered by a pillow. The other body was identified as Ceja’s son, a young boy under the age of 14. Authorities believe that Reyes beat the boy to death before dismembering both him and his mother.

Ceja was tied to Reyes’ address by tracing parking tickets that Ceja had received in months prior. The address she provided in those instances was the same as Reyes’, leading officers to investigate the address, where they discovered the bodies of Ceja and her son.

Local authorities also say there were additional people living in Reyes’ mobile home, but there’s no word yet as to whether they’ve been charged in connection with the murders, according to CNN. Upon his arrest, Reyes was charged with capital murder, first-degree kidnapping and abuse of a corpse.

Jeremy Duerr, the Tallapoosa County district attorney, said at a press conference on Tuesday morning, “We’re looking at multiple counts of capital murder, along with kidnapping in the first degree,” adding, “And of course, once we continue and finish our investigation, I feel certain that several more charges will follow.”

WRBL reports that the girl was most likely abducted on or around July 24 and was drugged with alcohol to keep her subdued. Authorities believe the girl was physically and sexually abused during that time. Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett has declined to comment on the girl’s relationship with Reyes prior to the kidnapping or if the bodies they discovered were related to her in any way.

Deseret News confirms that the girl is now in stable condition and being closely monitored by authorities and first responders. During the Tuesday morning press conference, Abbett said, “She’s safe now and we want to keep her that way.” He continued, “We do not want to jeopardize the identity of our juvenile until we get other information from forensics sciences and will be limited giving that information.”

Homeland Security and the FBI have joined the investigation, and Sheriff Abbett is confident that the collaborating agencies will be able to uncover more information in the weeks to come. Abbett added, “Hats off to (the investigators); they’ve been around the clock and we’re still processing the scene,” adding that they’re waiting on forensics before releasing more information to the public.