An 11-year-old girl who was abducted in Pennsylvania was found safe on Monday after police pinpointed her location by pinging her iPad, according to the Westmoreland District Attorney’s Office.
Keith Lilliock, 43, is behind bars after police found the missing girl inside a home in Latrobe, Penn. He has been charged with luring a child into a motor vehicle and interference with the custody of children, the district attorney’s office said.
The young girl told police that she was riding her bike to Pittsburgh to visit her sister on Sunday — an approximately four-hour bike ride — when she stopped at a gas station to take a break. The girl left her bike at the station and walked to a nearby Dollar General store when Lilliock approached her and offered to drive her wherever she needed to go.
Video surveillance from the Dollar General was obtained by authorities and showed Lilliock talking with the 11-year-old for over 20 minutes.
Lilliock was able to lure the child into his car and drove her to his house in South Greensburg. He went inside and left her alone for a few minutes while he smoked marijuana, according to local WTAE.
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When he returned to the car where he had left the young girl, he “rubbed her leg and touched her stomach area under her shirt before she asked him to take her to a friend’s house in Latrobe,” the attorney’s office said. (The authorities did not confirm if he did, in fact, drive her there.)
The child was reported missing by her grandmother on Sunday. State police found her abandoned bike near a gas station and a bloodhound team was brought in to locate her scent.
The key to locating the child came down to the iPad she was carrying. Law enforcement used the geolocation feature on the device to pinpoint her location at a home near Latrobe and they recovered the missing girl on Monday afternoon.
On the same day, Lilliock was arrested for abduction. He admitted that he offered the girl a ride but denied touching her, lawyers said.
According to state troopers, Lilliock told police that he “used to be a bad guy,” but has since changed his ways after finding Jesus and becoming a born-again Christian.
Lilliock allegedly told police that he used to be attracted to teenage girls but no longer, WTAE reported.
In police questioning, Lilliock was asked if anything happened while he had the girl in the car, to which he abruptly responded, “I did not touch an 11-year-old,” despite not being prompted about that allegation.
Lilliock is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison after being denied bail.
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