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Kidnapped US teen rescued by police thanks to Snapchat

19 January 2020, MVT 10:16
These booking photos released by the San Jose, California, Police Department (SJPD) on January 16, 2020, show (L-R) Albert Thomas Vasquez, Antonio Quirino Salvador, and Hediberto Gonzalez Avarenga. - A 14-year-old girl kidnapped in California used the Snapchat social network to ask her friends to call the police, who accessed her location through the application. San Jose police said in a statement January 14, 2020, they found the teenager in a motel room, where they also arrested Albert Thomas Vasquez, 55, on charges of rape and kidnapping. The alleged aggressor counted on the help of the two other men, arrested for kidnapping and conspiracy. (Photo by HO / San Jose Police Department / AFP) / (Photo by HO / San Jose Police Department / AFP)
These booking photos released by the San Jose, California, Police Department (SJPD) on January 16, 2020, show (L-R) Albert Thomas Vasquez, Antonio Quirino Salvador, and Hediberto Gonzalez Avarenga. - A 14-year-old girl kidnapped in California used the Snapchat social network to ask her friends to call the police, who accessed her location through the application. San Jose police said in a statement January 14, 2020, they found the teenager in a motel room, where they also arrested Albert Thomas Vasquez, 55, on charges of rape and kidnapping. The alleged aggressor counted on the help of the two other men, arrested for kidnapping and conspiracy. PHOTO: HO / SAN JOSE POLICE DEPARTMENT / AFP
19 January 2020, MVT 10:16

A California teen who had been drugged and kidnapped was rescued by police this week after using Snapchat to alert her friends to her abduction.

Police said the 14-year-old victim on Tuesday notified friends she had been kidnapped via the popular app and they were able to determine her location and alert authorities.

One man was arrested as he left the motel in San Jose, in northern California, where the girl was being held and two other suspects were taken into custody on Wednesday, police said in a statement.

They said one of the suspects, Albert Vasquez, 55, met the victim shortly before her abduction and gave her drugs that left her incapacitated.

Vasquez then called the two other suspects who put the teen in their vehicle against her will, police said.

Vasquez allegedly raped the teen in the car before taking her to a motel where he sexually assaulted her again.

He has been charges with multiple felony counts including kidnapping to commit rape and rape by intoxication or controlled substance.

The two other suspects -- Antonio Salvador and Hediberto Avarenga -- were charged with kidnapping and conspiracy.

Los Angeles, United States | AFP

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