Footprints, cellphone data helps CHP officers in Truckee find abducted Idaho teen

California Highway Patrol Officers in Truckee helped locate a 14-year-old girl who had gone missing in Idaho.

The search for a teenage girl abducted from Idaho crossed state lines, before ending in California. 

On Thursday at around 7 p.m. the Rupert Police Department in Idaho notified the California Highway Patrol Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center of the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl. 

According to Rupert police, the teen had been on punishment but left home without her mother's permission. 

The mother thought her daughter was at a friend's house, but when she didn't return she grew worried, police said. 

Information from the girl's social media accounts led investigators to believe the teen was driving to Northern California with two men. 

Rupert police said one of the suspects had a felony warrant for sexual assault of a child. Officers believed the 14-year-old had been kidnapped and was in danger of being sexually assaulted or forced into human trafficking, authorities said. 

An Amber Alert was issued for the girl and two suspects in Idaho, Nevada, and California. 

Cellphone tracking information showed the trio was possibly in the Truckee area, CHP said.

At around 12:04 a.m. on Friday, an officer located one of the suspects, 35-year-old Carmelo Galarza, in the driver's seat of a 2011 Gray Chevrolet Malibu near. He was near the Donner Summit Rest Area. 

After further investigation and the continued use of cell phone tracking information, it was believed the victim and the second suspect, 18-year-old Sergio Alcantar, were on foot and hiding in the area, authorities said. 

Officers searched the area and found two sets of fresh footprints in the snow that led into the forest. Officers continued to comb the area and located the victim and Alcantar hiding behind a large tree in the snow, according to CHP.

Galarza and Alcantar were both arrested and transported to Nevada County Jail on kidnapping charges. The teen is in protective custody.