A 41-year-old man is accused of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl from a shopping plaza in Lauderdale Lakes, with investigators saying the teen was found safe only after her mother tracked her phone and raced to a gas station miles away. Raymar Fraser now sits in jail on a kidnapping charge as Broward detectives piece together exactly what happened.
According to CBS News Miami, investigators say Fraser approached the teenager outside a thrift store and the two spoke before she told deputies she rejected his advances. The Broward Sheriff's Office identified him in surveillance footage as Raymar Fraser, as reported by WSVN. The station reported that the girl was simply waiting for the thrift store to open at a shopping plaza on Oakland Park Boulevard when Fraser started talking to her.
Per an arrest report cited by NBC6, the girl said Fraser offered to buy her breakfast, she refused, and he then took her away against her will. The encounter happened Sunday at the plaza, which WSVN's report placed at 3901 West Oakland Park Boulevard.
Conflicting Accounts of How She Was Taken
Exactly how Fraser got the teen into a vehicle is described differently across outlets. CBS News Miami's report says he allegedly forced her into his pickup truck, while NBC6's account states that surveillance video captured him holding her by the wrist and leading her into a car. WSVN's report offers yet another description, with detectives saying he grabbed her by the waist, escorted her to the passenger seat, and told her to get in.
The sequence of how the girl got away is similarly disputed. NBC6 reported that detectives said she jumped out of the vehicle when Fraser stopped to meet someone, after which her mother tracked her down. WSVN's account separately described Fraser pushing her back into the vehicle when she tried to escape. Neither version has been independently confirmed beyond what each outlet reported.
A Mother's App Led Her to a Gas Station
What is consistent across the reporting is the role of a smartphone tracking app. Detectives said the girl's mother had been keeping tabs on her daughter's location using the Life360 app and knew something was wrong, the same station's report noted. That tracking reportedly led her to a Chevron gas station in Lauderhill, where she found her daughter after Fraser had let her out of the vehicle.
Kidnapping Charge Carries Steep Penalty
Fraser remains in jail, with NBC6 reporting he is being held without bond on the kidnapping charge; WSVN's report said he faced several charges stemming from the incident. Under Florida Statutes § 787.01, kidnapping is defined as forcibly, secretly, or by threat confining, abducting, or imprisoning another person against their will and without lawful authority. The statute classifies the offense as a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison.
