A joint operation led to the location of a missing 14-year-old West End girl and the arrest of a man accused of kidnapping her.
On Aug. 25, the Moore County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a missing teen. The next day, sheriff’s investigators determined the missing juvenile was likely with a man in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, according to a news advisory by Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields.
Moore County investigators responded to Elizabeth City, where a joint operation was conducted at a local motel where the juvenile was found safe and returned home. Participating in the operation were the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office, Elizabeth City Police Department, and agents from North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 25-year-old Jason Callaham, of Wagram, North Carolina. Moore County investigators charged Callaham with one count of felony first-degree kidnapping. He was additionally charged by Elizabeth City Police Department with two counts of felony statutory rape of a child less than 15 years of age and was committed to the Albemarle district jail under a $1,000,000 secured bond pending a first court appearance on Aug. 28 in Pasquotank County district court. Callaham is scheduled to appear in Moore County district court on Sept. 14 and is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
