FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) - A member of the 82nd Airborne was arrested after investigators said he kidnapped a 12-year-old girl from her Craven County home.
The Craven County Sheriff’s Office said they received a phone call Sunday morning from a woman who reported her granddaughter was missing.
The grandmother said the girl’s window was open and a ransom note was left on her bed.
The SBI and FBI were immediately contacted along with several other local enforcement agencies.
The girl was found later Sunday in Fayetteville with James Murdock Peele, the sheriff’s office said.
Peele, a private 2nd class in the 82nd Airborne, was arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping.
He will be transported back to Craven County where the sheriff’s office said he could face additional charges.
The Sheriff’s Office Investigative Division, SBI, FBI, U.S. Army CID, U.S. Secret Service, the District Attorney’s Office, National Center for Missing Children, DMV, along with multiple local Sheriff’s Offices in North and South Carolina all participated in the apprehension.
