Suspect arrested for kidnapping, DUI after being found traveling through Utah with missing 14-year-old girl

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah ( ABC4 ) — A suspect is in custody after he was found traveling with a missing teen girl through Summit County on Saturday, according to Utah Highway Patrol .

Pedro Chavez Lara, 19, was arrested in Summit County on five counts of driving under the influence — passenger under 16 years of age (class A misdemeanor), kidnapping (second-degree felony), endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult (third-degree felony), among other traffic and drug possession charges.

On July 20, Summit County dispatch received information regarding an “attempt to locate” for a missing juvenile whose phone was pinged in the area. Shortly after the info came in, police received a call regarding three young females being dropped off in a rest area off I-80 near milepost 146.

A UHP trooper responded to the location and “quickly discovered the females were those reported missing,” a probable cause affidavit states.

After a short time, the vehicle that had dropped off the girls returned to the scene and the trooper conducted a felony stop. The vehicle was reportedly occupied by three adults and two children — the adults were detained at the scene.

“As I approached the driver door I observed a glass pipe with a white residue inside and a burnt end. The driver who had been detained had a package of cigarettes in his pocket, inside the box I observed two small blue baggies which contained a crystal like substance,” the trooper wrote in the affidavit.

In speaking with the driver, identified as Lara, the trooper observed indicators of recent drug use and Lara submitted to a chemical blood test. Lara also admitted that the 14-year-old girl in the vehicle was a “delinquent” and that he knowingly continued to transport her cross-country from Iowa to Utah, with the destination being California, police said.

Details regarding how Lara came into contact with the juvenile have not been made available. Lara was booked into Summit County Jail on the charges previously stated.

No further information is available at this time.

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