A 23-year-old Michigan man has been charged with kidnapping after a missing 12-year-old girl from Iowa was found safe within an hour of an Amber Alert being issued.
Police say the girl, from Waterloo, was reported missing on Sunday, prompting authorities to launch a statewide Amber Alert. The case moved quickly after investigators traced the suspect’s vehicle to Coloma Township in Michigan, nearly 400 miles away on the eastern edge of Lake Michigan.
Officers located the vehicle soon after and found the child inside with the suspect. Authorities confirmed that the girl was safe when she was recovered.
Following the investigation, Waterloo Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Daniyal Khan from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has been charged with second-degree kidnapping, indecent contact with a child, and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Khan was taken into custody and is currently being held at the Berrien County Jail in Michigan.
According to police, the Amber Alert played a key role in the swift recovery of the child. The alert was issued shortly after the girl was reported missing, allowing law enforcement to act quickly across state lines.
Officials have not released further details about how the girl was taken or the circumstances leading up to the incident. The investigation remains ongoing.
The Waterloo Police Department said the case developed rapidly as information came in about the suspect’s movements, helping officers track him down in a different state within a short period of time.
