Florida man flies to Utah, kidnaps teen girl he met online, deputies say

EAGLE MOUNTAIN, UT. - A Florida man was arrested earlier this week for allegedly kidnapping a teenage girl that he met online.

Although the teenager was safely located within hours of her disappearance, officials emphasized that the incident highlights the dangers of social media and urged parents to talk to their children about the risks of communicating with strangers online.

Florida man allegedly flies to Utah to be with 17-year-old girl

What we know:

On April 27, Utah County Sheriff's deputies in Eagle Mountain were alerted to a missing 17-year-old girl.

The teen’s mother told deputies she had last seen her daughter that morning. Later, when she went to check on her, she discovered the girl was gone.

The mother began contacting family members to see if anyone knew where the teen was. She soon learned that her daughter had been communicating with a man she met online and was possibly with him, officials said.

Authorities later identified the man as 33-year-old Alex Guy. He had reportedly been communicating with the teenager online for about three months.

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Deputies were able to track the girl using a feature on one of her electronic devices and discovered she was at a gas station near Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Utah officials alerted the Wyoming Highway Patrol. A trooper in the area quickly located the girl and arrested Guy — all within two and a half hours of the teen being reported missing.

An investigation revealed that Guy flew from Florida, picked up the teenager and began driving east on Interstate 80 with her, leaving Utah.

What we don't know:

Details about how the suspect and victim communicated online were not immediately released. Officials have also not disclosed the man's potential motive in the reported kidnapping.

What's next:

Guy was booked into jail for aggravated kidnapping in Wyoming, authorities said.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office said it has also submitted the charge of kidnapping and is working with the Utah County Attorney's Office to get Guy extradited to Utah.

'Talk with your children'

What they're saying:

"This incident also highlights the potential dangers of social media, during the investigation it was learned that Alex Guy had been in communications with the teen for about 3 months prior to this weekend," a spokesperson for the Utah County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

"Talk with your children about the potential dangers of communicating with unknown parties on internet," the sheriff's office added. "We are all fortunate and grateful that this incident had the outcome it did."

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