Texas father tracks kidnapped daughter’s phone to rescue her on Christmas Day

A Texas father rescued his abducted teenage daughter on Christmas Day by using her cellphone’s location after she was kidnapped by a knife-wielding man.

Officers with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office were called to a home around 4:50 pm on Christmas Day after a 15-year-old girl failed to return home from walking her dog. Using parental controls on his daughter’s phone, the father was able to track her location to a “secluded, partially wooded area” that was located about two miles away.

The father, who was not publicly identified by the sheriff’s office, went to the location himself, where he found his daughter and her dog inside a pickup truck with a partially nude man. He was able to safely retrieve his daughter and return home, where they proceeded to contact the sheriff’s office.

The suspect was identified as 23-year-old Giovanni Rosales Espinoza. Investigators said he had threatened the teenager with a knife. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child. Espinoza is being held in the county jail without bond as the investigation continues.

According to KHOU, the suspect was unknown to the family. Authorities said the family is relieved that the girl is home safely and recovering from the incident.

"Christmas is a day meant for joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child," Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a post on social media. "I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was swiftly apprehended and is now off our streets. Rest assured that your Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant every hour of every day to keep your families safe.”