California girl missing since July found during Nevada traffic stop, stepfather arrested

A California teenager who vanished final summer time was discovered over the weekend and her stepfather has been arrested.

Katuana Nateya Whisenant, 14, was discovered Saturday throughout a visitors cease in Nevada, Richard Griffin, chief of the Crescent Metropolis Police Division in Northern California mentioned in an announcement. Whisenant’s stepfather, Santos Flores-Roman, 39, of Santa Rosa, had an energetic arrest warrant and was taken into custody, he mentioned. 

Whisenant was discovered unhurt and wholesome, Griffin advised Fox affiliate KTVU-TV. Roman is charged on suspicion of preserving a baby from their dad and mom, The Press Democrat reported.

“It’s like little one abduction however totally different, as a result of she voluntarily ran away,” the chief defined to the information station. 

Whisenant ran away from her Crescent Metropolis residence in July 2021 to Santa Rosa the place Roman had moved. Since she is a Yurok Indian, the native tribal police contacted the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which concerned the FBI within the investigation.

Katuana Whisenant, who ran away from her Crescent Metropolis residence in July 2021, was discovered Saturday throughout a visitors cease in Nevada.

California Freeway Patrol

Santos Flores-Roman, the stepfather of Katuana Whisenant, is charged on suspicion of preserving a baby from their dad and mom, The Press Democrat mentioned.

California Freeway Patrol

“We had final positioned him in Chico primarily based on his license plate,” mentioned Griffin. “Then, out of the blue we get this name that they discovered her. We had an arrest warrant out on him.”

“Since I’m a mum or dad myself, I may think about what it could be like for my daughter to be gone that lengthy. I used to be glad to have the ability to make that decision to the dad and mom,” he mentioned. “It was the best-case situation.”