A 14-year-old girl is safe Thursday after detectives say she managed to contact some friends through Snapchat after being kidnapped.
Detectives say the girl’s friends were able to figure out she was at the E-Z 8 Motel on First Street in San Jose. When officers arrived, they quickly arrested 55-year-old Albert Thomas Vasquez.
Police believe he met the 14-year-old earlier that morning in Capitola and offered her drugs.
Then he, along with two alleged accomplices -- Antonio Quirino Salvador and Hidiberto Gonzalez Avarenga -- drove to San Jose.
"Shouldn't be taking nobody's young daughter and kidnapping her like that,” said Joshua Holmes, E-Z 8 Motel guest. “That's just not right."
San Jose police say the three men carried the young woman up to a second-floor room. That's where detectives say Vasquez sexually assaulted her.
At some point Tuesday morning, she started communicating with her friends through Snapchat, they called 911 and directed police to the motel.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
Guest Angie Pueblas said young women need to be extra careful.
"Wherever you go just, you know, watch your back and you know, don't accept things from strangers," she said.
