According to investigators, a North Carolina youngster who had been reported missing was discovered in a man's home in Kentucky, trapped behind a trap door that was concealed behind a rug.
A criminal complaint that USA TODAY was able to obtain states that the 16-year-old girl went missing in early December. On Christmas, deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office were called to a residence in Kings Mountain, Kentucky, an unincorporated town approximately sixty miles southwest of Lexington, where they discovered the girl.
The mother of 34-year-old Zackary Keith Jones contacted deputies to report a domestic incident between her son and his "girlfriend." Deputy Soto stated in the report that detectives arrived at the residence shortly before 5:15 p.m.
Deputies said they found drug paraphernalia in plain sight after Jones allowed them into the home after he denied seeing the woman at the door. Jones allegedly tried to throw the accoutrements into a wood burner after grabbing them at some point in the complaint.
Upon checking the residence, deputies discovered the girl concealed behind a "trap door that was hid under a rug in the bedroom." They then interfered, subdued Jones, and transferred him to a cruiser.
Deputies were informed by the youngster She was reportedly "very high" when Jones brought her back to Kentucky from North Carolina, where she was staying with her grandmother.
Upon meeting Jones online, the girl informed deputies that he claimed to be 19 years old. However, when he arrived at her North Carolina residence, "he looked older" and claimed to be 25 years old.
According to the affidavit, the girl learned from his relatives that he was 34 years old after he drove her to his house. He also instructed her to tell everyone that she was 18 years old. According to what she told detectives, he threatened her life on more than one occasion.