Northern Arizona traffic stop leads to discovery of missing Alabama girl

HOLBROOK, AZ (AZFamily) — A routine traffic stop led to deputies finding a teen girl missing from another state and the man she was with being arrested, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office said on Friday.

Deputies said 32-year-old Raul Alexis Arellano-Romero was pulled over while he was going east on Interstate 40 near North Sun Valley Road in Sun Valley, which is northeast of Holbrook, on Wednesday. While speaking to him, the detective saw somebody trying to hide under a blanket in the passenger’s seat.

When asked, the man claimed she was a 19-year-old friend whom he met in Las Vegas and was driving back to New Mexico.

However, the detective noticed something didn’t add up, and Arellano-Romero looked nervous. The “friend” had fake tattoos on her body, which may have been used to change or conceal her identity, NCSO said.

After more questions, NCSO said the passenger gave her true name, which was a 13-year-old girl who had been missing from Albertville, Alabama, since April 19. She was last spotted with her dog. The girl was not hurt.

Detectives said they also found out Arellano-Romero was arrested in Massachusetts last year for taking the same girl from her guardians’ custody. He was released on bond later that year. Authorities believe Arellano-Romero drove from New Mexico to Alabama and took the girl again.

He was arrested and booked into the Navajo County jail, and his bond was set at $100,000. Authorities are working to send Arellano-Romero and the girl back to Alabama.

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