UPDATE: Abduction of 12-year-old leads to high-speed chase on I-15

Editors Note:  A previous version of this story had incorrect information provided by police about the suspects. That information has been removed. On Monday, police confirmed the suspect who was arrested is under the age of 18 and therefore, no further identifying information will be released.

BOUNTIFUL — A man suspected of abducting a 12-year-old girl and fleeing from police is in custody after crashing into a patrol car Sunday morning.

According to Lt. Andrew Smith with the Bountiful Police Department, the girl left her home and got into a man’s car in his 20s, whom she met on social media at approximately 12:21 a.m.

Smith said that the girl’s family noticed she had been gone for a while, and some of those family members went outside and saw a car they weren’t familiar with in their driveway.

“They knocked on the window and inquired if their daughter was inside the car, at which point a Hispanic male jumped into the driver’s seat of the car, and the CA fled the area,” Smith said.

Smith said the family called police at approximately 9 a.m. after the car returned to their home. According to police, when officers arrived, the man had fled in a 2011 white Chevrolet Camaro with the girl inside. The car had no visible license plate. However, it was identifiable by its black hood and a social media sticker on the car.

High-speed chase

Police reported that a high-speed pursuit of the vehicle had begun. Smith said the chase went onto southbound Interstate 15, then on Interstate 215 until the suspect’s car lost control and hit the back of a Woods Cross police car on the Legacy Highway overpass.

Following this, the suspect was taken into police custody without incident. Police also found a Glock 17 handgun in the car.

Smith said the Woods Cross officer was sent to the hospital with minor injuries. The officer was getting ready to lay down spike strips when the suspect’s car crashed into them.

The 12-year-old girl was taken to a local hospital for examination but sustained no injuries during the accident, according to police. Investigators are looking into what happened during the nine hours that the girl was missing.

“You don’t know if you’re going to see your child again. Your child has just been taken by somebody you don’t know, and they’re gone for a period of time you can only imagine what those parents are going through and imagining what their daughter is going through,” Smith said.

BPD is working on positively identifying the suspect before releasing more information. Police reported that this was a non-family abduction.

The department asks anyone with information to call police at (801)298-6000 or dial 911.

Contributing: Michael Houck, KSL TV

---

This story is breaking and may be updated.