A 41-year-old man will soon be extradited to Volusia County for trial after he picked up a Daytona Beach teenager from her school with her consent and tried to fly her to his home in Arizona.
Christopher Reed was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina today (October 30, 2020) with the assistance of the Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO), United States Department of Homeland Security and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
The 13-year-old victim and Reed had flown to Charlotte from Daytona Beach International Airport and were waiting on another flight at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport when authorities found them.
The victim was not harmed and will be heading back home soon.
The Holly Hill Police Department (HHPD) was first tipped off about Reed last September by the girl’s mother after she discovered that her daughter and Reed had met on Instagram months earlier and were exchanging inappropriate photos with one another through that social media platform.
Investigators discovered that Reed had flown from Arizona to Daytona Beach yesterday (October 29, 2020) in hopes of meeting the victim in person, which he eventually did later that day when he picked her up from her school.
The girl’s mother reached out to HHPD after her daughter failed to come home or contact her.
The Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) became involved this morning after the victim failed to show up at her school, which is in Daytona Beach.
With the assistance of VSO, it was learned that the victim and Reed had taken a flight that would eventually see them in Arizona after a layover in Charlotte.
Reed is currently held on a charge of kidnapping. Additional charges against him are coming soon. DBPD is working with the office of 7th Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza to determine what those charges should be.
Reed’s arrest report and mugshot are not available for release at this time.