An enlisted Marine is in custody and facing potential child trafficking charges after military police discovered a runaway 14-year-old girl with learning disabilities in his barracks, NBC 7 San Diego reports. The unnamed girl was found June 28th, after having been reported missing from her grandmother’s house in a San Diego suburb.
“We can confirm that a Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group was taken into custody for questioning by Naval Criminal Investigative Services on June 28, 2023, as seen on social media July 2, 2023,” Captain Chuck Palmer of Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Logistics Group told NBC 7. “The incident is under investigation, and we will continue to cooperate with NCIS and appropriate authorities.”
Local police and NCIS are working to determine how the Marine was able to get onto the base and stay in the barracks for two weeks with no one reporting her.