Share and Follow
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A 16-year-old girl who had been reported missing in North Carolina was discovered during a late-night traffic stop in Florida on Monday.
As detailed in a social media update, Deputy Chewning from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office observed a vehicle exceeding the speed limit.
Although the car eventually slowed, Deputy Chewning proceeded with the traffic stop after determining the vehicle had been traveling too fast.
Upon approaching the vehicle, the deputy found that the passenger provided false information regarding her identity and age.
The driver, identified as 37-year-old Joshua Magraff from Charlotte, North Carolina, initially claimed that the passenger was his 16-year-old cousin.
The passenger gave deputies a 2013 birth date, which would make her only 12 years-old. The passenger gave two more false names and dates of birth causing Deputy Chewning to be concerned.
The deputy placed the child in his patrol car and she told him her real name.
Upon a search, it was found that the teen was reported missing a month earlier from North Carolina. Contact was made with the teen’s mother. The mother stated she did not know Magraff and she reported her daughter missing on Feb. 16.
When deputies asked the suspect what his connection was to the teen, Magraff changed his story to she was a friend. When deputies asked him why he was hanging out with a 16-year-old his story changed to stating he thought she was 19.
When asked why the pair were in Florida, he stated he was in the state to play gambling games.
During a search of the vehicle, deputies found 19 counterfeit $100 bills, synthetic marijuana, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Deputies contacted the Department of Children and Families to take custody of the teen until she could be reunited with her mother.
Magraff was arrested and charged with interference in child custody, synthetic marijuana possession, possession of counterfeit currency, contributing to deliquency of a minor and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was taken to the Putnam County Jail and held on $9,000 bond.
You can watch the full video of the traffic stop by clicking here.