A missing 13-year-old girl from Reading, Pennsylvania was found safe in New York City after she was abducted by her mother's ex-boyfriend in the middle of the night, authorities said.
Duane Taylor, 47, faces kidnapping of a minor, false imprisonment and other related charges after allegedly taking the young teen from her home on Schuylkill Avenue early Wednesday morning, the Berks County officials said.
An Amber Alert was issued for the teenage girl after she hadn't been seen since 2 a.m., Reading Police Chief Richard Tornielli said in a news conference.
Reading police said around 7:45 a.m. they were dispatched to the 500 block of South Court for a report of a child that was abducted.
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The mother reported that her 13-year-old daughter was missing. She said she last saw her around 10:30 p.m. the night before in her bedroom, police said.
Tornielli said around 2 a.m., a man, whose head and body were covered with a sheet, entered their home, walked up to the second floor, and took the 13-year-old from the residence.
Pennsylvania State Police said in the Amber Alert that the child was taken by an unknown man who placed her in a silver Chevrolet Traverse with Pennsylvania tags.
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After more than 15 hours of frantic searching, the New York Police Department and FBI arrested Duane Taylor, 47, at his home on the 800 block of Glenmore Avenue in Brooklyn, the agencies said.
He's held in New York on state charges and is awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.
"Let this be a lesson to anyone who’s trying to harm any of our little ones," Reading Mayor Eddie Moran said, "that we will do everything possible to make sure they will get apprehended immediately.”
A short time later, a call came into 911 from a person saying they found a missing girl. Police said that the teen approached the caller and told them she had been kidnapped from Pennsylvania earlier.
She was found without shoes on the 900 block of Liberty Avenue in Brooklyn around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, the New York City Police Department said.
Police said she was taken to the hospital for evaluation and showed no visible injuries.
Tornielli said the teen has been reunited with her mother.
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Family members told NBC10 the mother dated Taylor for a couple months after meeting online, but had broken up.
Dwayne Taylor was the only individual involved in this incident, police said, and investigators aren't looking for anyone else.
