A missing juvenile case spanning across states culminated in an arrest in Jefferson County, Tennessee, earlier this week. According to a social media post by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, deputies collaborated with the West Des Moines, Iowa Police Department after receiving a tip about a missing 13-year-old girl from Iowa who was possibly in the area. The deputies visited two locations before a resident's call on Fielden Store Rd tipped them off to her presence, claiming she was kidnapped and had managed to escape.
Upon deputies' arrival, they confirmed the girl was indeed the missing juvenile in question. During the investigation, conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division, it was Martin Amaya Sandoval Jr., 37, of New Market, who had been communicating with the girl. Driving 13 hours to West Des Moines to pick up the victim that Saturday, he then brought her back to Jefferson County. The girl, upon being found, was promptly returned to her home state of Iowa.
During the intensive investigative efforts, a dark picture emerged of the time the girl spent with Sandoval. Besides kidnapping, the inquiry revealed that there had been "several sexual encounters" between Sandoval and the young girl, as mentioned in the Sheriff's Office's update. Sandoval now faces serious charges, including four counts of Aggravated Statutory Rape, and is being held in the Jefferson County Detention Center with a bail set at half a million dollars.
