A Connecticut man has been charged with kidnapping a 15-year-old girl he met on social media, according to authorities.
Marcos Alex Mendez Torres, 24, of New Haven, was arrested Sunday in Montgomery, N.Y., and charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child in connection to the disappearance of the Connecticut girl, the Connecticut State Police said in a release.
The State Police upgraded the charges against Mendez Torres after arresting him again at his home in New Haven.
He was charged with second-degree kidnapping, risk of injury to a minor, and enticing a minor by interactive computer service.
Troopers responded to a call on Sunday about a missing teen girl and searched a location where she was believed to be but were unable to find her.
They then spoke with a friend of the missing girl who told them that the teen told her she had been in a relationship with a man she met on Snapchat.
"According to the witness, the missing juvenile disclosed to them that, on one occasion, the male had driven to the area near her residence and that sexual contact had occurred," state police said.
The friend said the man drove a white vehicle that was later discovered to be a Toyota Corolla that had been spotted and photographed by a neighbor near the missing girl's home.
Investigators were able to identify the car belonging to Mendez Torres, and later that day learned that the suspect's cell phone pinged in New York.
They contacted local authorities who found Mendez Torres and the girl.
Mendez Torres is being held on a $1 million bond.
