15-year-old North Carolina girl abducted after meeting abductor via Instagram direct messages
Summary
A 15-year-old girl in Harnett County, North Carolina, was abducted in February after meeting one of her alleged abductors, Elihue Mahler, through Instagram direct messages. The teen told her mother she needed to get a water bottle from the car, but was actually arranging to meet Mahler, who used the username "rich_mf_ez." Search warrants revealed that Mahler instructed her to delete messages and then told her to sneak out and walk down the street. The girl was found safe with Mahler and Austyn Lee Cole in Dare County, over 100 miles from her home. The teen had a tablet without parental controls, which was missing from her home during the abduction. Both Mahler and Cole were charged with felony human trafficking, kidnapping, and conspiracy, and each was set at a $5 million bond.
Incident Details
Harms involving the exploitation, abuse, or endangerment of minors, including CSAM and grooming.
Online contact by adults seeking to build trust with minors for exploitation.
Sources
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