A 10-year-old California girl was found safe after authorities say she was abducted by a man she had been communicating with through popular gaming site Roblox and messaging platform Discord.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday that the victim’s family, who live in Taft, California, reported her missing on Sunday (April 13), noting that the girl had last been seen the night before.
Authorities claim they spoke to some of the girl’s friends who believed the 10-year-old might have been kidnapped.
The Sheriff’s Office alleged that further investigation revealed that the girl has been communicating with Matthew Macatuno Naval, 27, of Elk Grove, California.
Elk Grove police were notified, and they found the 27-year-old with the girl in his car at a strip mall near his home, over four hours away from the girl’s home in Kern County.
“The suspect was found by collaboration with Elk Grove PD and with the help of the Sacramento news media’s response to missing flyers sent by KCSO, and our local media partners here in Kern County,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Lori Meza said in a statement.
“We are confident that spreading the word so quickly contributed to the successful location of the victim and the suspect.”
The 10-year-old was temporarily taken into protective custody before being released to her family, the Sheriff’s office said.
Naval was booked into jail and transferred to Kern County, with a complaint expected to be filed Friday (April 18), the Sacramento Bee reported.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Roblox on Wednesday, seeking details about its marketing practices, age verification measures, and how it collects data from children.
“We intend to cooperate with the Attorney General’s office and look forward to sharing all the work Roblox does to help keep users safe,” a Roblox spokesperson said.
In California, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office reminded the community of the importance of internet safety, considering the recent incident.
“Criminals no longer have to go into parks to snatch up our children. They’re on social media apps or gaming apps and they are communicating with children right under our noses and coercing them and blackmailing them,” the release said.
“Parents, monitor all electronic usage and know who your children are communicating with. Many apps and games have messaging capabilities and present the same, if not more, risk as social media platforms.”
