In a distressing incident that concluded with relief, a 4-year-old girl abducted from a Centennial childcare facility was discovered unharmed inside a storage unit, Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office reports. The child, taken at around 3 p.m. from the facility near E. Smoky Hill Road and S. Picadilly St., was believed to have been "forcefully taken" by her father, Justin Cole, 39, who, as per the sheriff's office, was prohibited by a court order from contacting his daughter, as reported by Denver7.
The alarming situation prompted the sheriff's office to issue a plea for assistance on social media at approximately 5:15 p.m., warning the community to keep an eye out for the missing child and her non-custodial father. Within minutes, an update followed asserting the girl's safety and the arrest of Cole. Both were found in a Centennial self-storage facility, tucked away inside one of its storage units, as noted by 9News.
According to KDVR, the sheriff’s office has not disclosed specifics on what led to the discovery of Cole and his daughter. Nonetheless, their location in the storage facility brought to a close a tense episode that lasted for hours under nebulous circumstances.
No information has yet been released on the charges Cole may face or the legal ramifications of his actions. The ordeal, while brief, reiterates the unnerving reality of non-custodial parental abduction. It underscores the sophisticated, working relationship of social media with law enforcement in uniting a community's effort toward a child’s safe recovery. In the aftermath of the incident, the sheriff's office has not issued an official statement detailing the impact of Cole's actions on the future of his parental rights or potential custody disputes.
