Marine released from custody after missing 14-year-old girl found in California barracks

Emily DeLetter, Aberdeen News
Updated ·2 min read
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A Marine has been released from custody and back to his command after being held for questioning when authorities found a 14-year-old girl in the barracks of a California base. Investigators said they found the girl late last month and they believe she ran away from her grandparents' home earlier in June.

Jeff Houston, division chief of media and congressional affairs with Naval Criminal Investigative Services, a military law enforcement agency, confirmed the news of the Marine's release to USA TODAY. Houston said no charges have been filed and no arrests have been made at this time.

The 14-year-old girl's grandmother reported her missing four days after her initial disappearance June 9, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department confirmed. David LaDieu, media relations director with the sheriff's department, said the girl had run away from home before but "always returned home quickly."

The girl's information was entered into multiple missing person databases, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The girl was found June 28 by military police at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. Neither the girl nor the Marine have been publicly identified.

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This Nov. 13, 2013 file photo shows the main gate of Camp Pendleton Marine Base at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
This Nov. 13, 2013 file photo shows the main gate of Camp Pendleton Marine Base at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Capt. Charles Palmer, director of communications strategy and operations for the 1st Marine Logistics Group, told NBC the Marine was held for questioning June 28 by NCIS. Palmer said the Marine has not been formally charged and remains in the custody of his command.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force are supporting NCIS with the investigation.

The teen was returned to her grandmother, the sheriff's department said. She was interviewed by detectives, and the family was offered services.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marine released from custody after girl, 14, found at Camp Pendleton