LAURENS COUNTY, Ga.— A 12-year-old Paisley girl is safe after being found in Georgia with a 19-year-old Illinois man, with the help of Georgia license plate readers (LPRs.)
Juliette Delgado was reported missing Thursday after taking personal belongings with her, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Stephanie Earley said.
“Based on prior knowledge of Juliette Delgado’s history and information that was gathered on scene, deputies determined that Juliette Delgado had met 19-year-old male, Alex Lindsley, online via TikTok,” according to Earley, and Lindsley made the drive to Florida to meet the girl.
Deputies determined Lindsley was driving a silver Dodge truck with a temporary tag attached, through a previous traffic stop in Illinois for reckless driving, Earley said. Detectives then tracked the Dodge using LPRs. LPRs are cameras that automatically scan license plates, and if a plate matches a record in the database, including a suspect’s vehicle or missing person’s vehicle, it creates an alert for law enforcement, according to Earley.
LPRs showed the Dodge truck was traveling northbound through Georgia, and Laurens County sheriff’s deputies located the truck and stopped it Thursday.
Juliette was recovered safely and Lindsley was arrested as an Amber Alert was being issued. Lindsley is being held in the Laurens County Jail in Georgia on no bond, awaiting extradition. He is charged with interfere with custody of minor/incompetent person bond none.
More charges are expected, Earley said.
