Missing Child Found ‘Out of It’ Sleeping Under a Bench In Texas

Tuesday, October 4 Aransas Pass police received a call from law enforcement in Louisiana. A 14-year-old girl from Lousianna had been missing, and local authorities think they had just got a hit in Texas.

POLICE RECEIVED A TIP

A 14-year-old girl and man popped up on the radar when they tried using a stolen bank card at a gas station in Aransas Pass, Texas. While Aransas Pass Police Department began investigating the situation, they received another tip.

A concerned resident in the area phoned the police after noticing a young girl and a man in his twenties hanging around a nearby park. The caller made some very important observations of the two.

SOMETHING SEEMED WRONG

The woman suspected something was wrong when she noticed the young looked "out of it" and was sleeping on a bench. She also noticed the man with the girl had "a large injury on his leg."

Officers quickly followed up on these tips and found the missing Louisianna teen laying under a bench."She looked to be sleeping. "She was very tired," said APPD officer Andrew Ford. He went on to explain, her suspected kidnapper, was not there when officers arrived.

SUSPECTED KIDNAPPER SPOTTED

Officers kept their eyes out and soon, 26-year-old, Joseph Phillips, was riding a motorcycle when he was pulled over for a traffic stop. Phillips was identified as the young girl's suspected kidnapper and already had outstanding warrants for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor, and second-degree kidnapping, a felony, out of the Parish of Vernon, Louisiana.