Missing four-year-old girl found 1,200 miles away with a pimp in Texas where her mother had left her
FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: A four-year-old girl has been found alive nearly 1200 miles from her home after she went missing for more than three weeks.
FBI investigators found Aubriana Recinos - of Fayetteville, North Carolina - after raiding a property in Lewisville, Texas on Friday as part of a human trafficking sting.
“She was recovered at a house of individuals that were involved in human trafficking activities,” Major Robert Ramirez of Fayetteville police told CBS 11. “It is a ring, it’s a human trafficking ring that the FBI was investigating and these individuals have other children as well.”
The toddler was last spotted with her mother Carmen Lowe on July 8 in Fayetteville.
According to the report, police were concerned for Aubriana's wellbeing after learning that Lowe had fled with her daughter across state lines in direct violation of a court-ordered child custody agreement.
However, the FBI successfully tracked her down in Lousiana using cellphone and credit card records before arresting her on Thursday.
Shockingly, it is believed Lowe herself handed off the child to a human trafficking pimp, the report states.
"The child was pretty much given to a pimp, an associate of a pimp or family of the pimp for keeping," Ramirez stated. "The individuals involved are not cooperating."
Agents reportedly found several other children held inside the Texas property.
Investigators believe Lowe traveled to Texas and handed over her daughter to the pimp before traveling alone to Louisiana.
The former Hooters waitress (as listed on her Facebook) is being held in a Louisiana jail on charges of prostitution, theft under $1,000, and having an out-of-state warrant.
On the other hand, little Aubriana has been reunited with her ecstatic father Mario, who previously thought he would never see her again.
"Prayers have been answered completely, beyond answered," he told CBS 17, hugging his beloved daughter.
“The Fayetteville Police Department thanks the FBI and the Lewisville, Texas Police Department for their assistance with this investigation. The Fayetteville Police Department also extends thanks to everyone who shared the endangered missing child information and media outlets,” the department said in a statement.