Body cam shows missing Gastonia teen found in Florida with 37-year-old man
Body camera video shows the moment a 16-year-old Gastonia girl was found in Florida with Joshua Magraff, 37, who investigators said she met somehow in Charlotte.
READ MORE: Missing North Carolina Teen Found During Florida Traffic Stop
She is finally back home in Gastonia after traveling 500 miles to Crescent City, Florida, and federal agents have joined the investigation.
“Young lady, you wouldn’t have your ID card with you, would you?” The officer could be seen on body camera video saying this during the traffic stop Sunday evening in Crescent City.
At first, the officer didn’t know the girl had been reported missing in Gastonia, 475 miles away. It’s a seven-hour non-stop journey from city to city.
However, the agent knew something was wrong with their story.
“No sir, that’s my little cousin,” Magraff said in the body camera video.
“Is he your cousin?” said the officer. “Here’s the problem. The name she shared hasn’t been verified.”
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Maj. David Ussery of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
The officer convinced the girl to write down her real name and they called Gastonia, Ussery said.
“After contacting the mother, she never knew who this gentleman was,” Ussery said.
This man was Magraff.
“You are 37 years old and you are friends with a 16 year old girl? said the officer.
Officers fear this may be a case of trafficking of a minor.
“You could see how comfortable our victim was with this gentleman and this adult man and it’s obvious there’s potential for grooming,” Ussery said.
Major said they see a lot of runaways in Florida who seem comfortable, but then things change.
“They really don’t know the monster that lies deep within these people,” he said.
That’s why the sheriff’s office turned to Homeland Security agents to see what happened in the nearly 500 miles separating the cities.
VIDEO: Missing North Carolina teen found during Florida traffic stop
