SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A 31-year-old Huntsville man is facing charges in Massachusetts in connection with the kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl.
Police in Springfield traveled to Virginia after learning that Raul Arellano was being held at a jail in Fort Royal on an arrest warrant in the case. Arellano was returned to Massachusetts to face a felony kidnapping charge.
Police opened an investigation on July 28, when they were notified that a teenage girl had run away. Video showed the girl getting into a vehicle at 1:40 in the morning.
Detectives later identified Arellano as a suspect. His vehicle was reported heading south through Virginia, where state police conducted a stop.
They arrested Arellano and recovered the teenage girl, who was with him.
Investigators say Arellano had left his Huntsville home and had driven to Springfield after he established an online relationship with the teen. They believe the two had met in person previously in Alabama, where the girl's primary residence is.
