Kidnapped 12-year-old escapes captivity, leads authorities to suspect and corpses

A 12-year-old girl was spotted by a motorist around 8:30 a.m. on August 1 walking down County Road 34, south of Dadeville, Alabama. According to court documents, the girl had been kidnapped, bound, and drugged, but after a week in captivity managed to gnaw her way through the bindings and escape.

Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett called the girl a "hero," though elected not to elaborate further for fear of jeopardizing "the identification of our juvenile" and what he suggests is a "fluid investigation."

The motorist who initially picked up the girl immediately called 911. Shortly thereafter, the girl was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, where she is said to be safe and doing well.

710 WOR reports that the Tallapoosa County sheriff's department's investigation into her kidnapping — assisted by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's State Bureau of Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and a number of other agencies — led authorities to the Auburn home of 37-year-old Jose Paulino Pascual-Reyes.

In Reyes' house, 25 miles away from where the girl was found, investigators found two decomposing bodies. He is believed to have lived with others in the house since February.

Sheriff Abbett said that the remains presently reside at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences pending their identification and refused to comment upon whether the victims were related to the 12-year-old, who had not been reported missing.

Reyes was taken into custody in Auburn by U.S. Marshals and the Auburn Police Department and was later transported to Tallapoosa County Jail. He has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, three counts of capital murder, and two counts of abuse of a corpse in connection with the bodies.

When asked whether authorities expect to find additional bodies, Tallapoosa County District Attorney Jeremy Duerr said, "We expect additional charges just based on interviewing all participants."