Missing 11-year-old girl found after alleged kidnapping

CCTV footage of the missing 11-year-old girl who was found at a factory in Chungju, North Chungcheong, on Wednesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Police will apply for an arrest warrant against a man who allegedly kidnapped an 11-year-old girl who went missing in Chuncheon, Gangwon last Friday and was found six days later in a factory located in Chungju, North Chungcheong.

The suspect is accused of violating the Act on the Protection and Support of Missing Children, according to the Chuncheon Police Precinct.

The 11-year-old, who lived in Chuncheon, went missing on Feb. 10. Her parents informed the police the next day, telling them that their daughter had yet to return home.

The GPS tracker on her phone last showed her location near Jamsil Station in southern Seoul. The police started investigating the Jamsil area but as they were unable to track her location, they decided to disclose photos of the child and details on what she wore on Tuesday, the fifth day she went missing.

At around 8 p.m. the same day, the child texted her mother that she was in Chungju.

Police were able to track down the location through her phone’s signal and found her at a factory located in Chungju on Wednesday. The suspect, a 56-year-old man, was arrested at the site.

According to the JoongAng Ilbo, the factory where the child was found is located in the countryside of Chungju, about a kilometer away from the nearest village.

A lawn in front of the factory was blocked with a barricade, while the entrance of the factory was covered with a curtain.

Residents in the area had no idea people were entering and leaving the factory.

The police suspect the 56-year-old lured the child through social media, telling her that he wanted to be close with her and asked her to come to Seoul.

CCTV footage showed the child rode a cab to a bus terminal in Chuncheon on the night of Feb. 10, where she took a bus to Seoul.

According to the police, the two met in Seoul and arrived together in Chungju early the next morning in the suspect’s truck, which he drove to Seoul. The man lived at a residence right behind the factory where the missing child was found.

The 11-year-old sustained no injuries but did show symptoms of anxiety, according to the police.

“We are investigating the suspect’s purpose of taking her to the factory,” the police said. "We are planning to ask for the child's phone and request a forensic analysis soon, too."

Suspecting the man approached the child through social media, the police are performing digital forensics on the man’s phone.

The suspect is currently refusing to disclose the motives behind the alleged crime.

According to the Act on the Protection and Support of Missing Children, “no person shall protect a missing child, without any justifiable ground unless he or she reports" the missing child, with missing child defined as “any child separated from his or her custodian due to any cause.”

Anyone who violates the law faces up to 50 million won ($39,000) in fines and up to five years in prison.

BY PARK JIN-HO, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]