A teenage girl was kidnapped on Christmas Day after her father discovered she was using her phone’s parental controls, according to authorities in Texas.
A 15-year-old girl was kidnapped Thursday in the Houston suburb of Porter after her parents said she took her dog for a walk but did not return, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Authorities said the girl’s father tracked her phone through parental controls and eventually found it in a secluded, partially wooded area of Harris County, about two miles from Porter.
Her father found her and her dog in a maroon pickup truck with a half-naked 23-year-old man sitting in the vehicle, the Sheriff’s Office said. The father helped his daughter escape from the truck and contacted law enforcement, the Sheriff’s Office added.
Authorities did not name the father or his teenage daughter.
The man, Giovanni Rosales Espinoza, was taken into custody without incident and charged with aggravated kidnapping and child molestation after he threatened the girl with a knife and abducted her from the street, the Sheriff’s Office said. He remains in the Montgomery County Jail without bond, according to authorities.
It was unclear whether Espinosa had legal representation.
“Christmas is a day filled with joy, but this man chose to ruin that joy by targeting children,” Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of our officers and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was quickly apprehended and is now off our streets.”
“Please be assured that your Sheriff’s Office is vigilant every hour of every day to ensure the safety of your families,” he added.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com