The teen’s grandmother reported her missing on Tuesday, June 13
By Bradford Betz
A U.S. Marine was taken into custody late last month after a missing 14-year-old girl was found in the barracks of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California.
The teen’s grandmother had reported her granddaughter missing on Tuesday, June 13. She’d run away from home several days prior, her grandmother said.
Deputies responded to the grandmother’s home that same day to take a missing person report and enter the teen’s information into multiple missing persons databases.
Military police at Camp Pendleton located the teen and informed the sheriff’s department. Detectives interviewed the teen and returned her to her grandmother.
A Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group was taken into custody for questioning by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) – the lead agency handling the investigation – on June 28.
The Marine’s connections with the missing teen are not clear at this time.
Authorities have not released the identities of either the Marine taken into custody or the teen girl who was found.
NCIS is handling the investigation because Camp Pendleton is federal property. The sheriff’s department and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force are supporting NCIS with the investigation.
