Santa Fe New Mexican

Women accused of kidnapping

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FARMINGTON — Two women accused of kidnapping and molesting a 14-year-old Oklahoma boy were tracked via cellphone and other means to a home in New Mexico where the boy was found in a car that pulled into the driveway, authoritie­s said.

Kristen Aragon, 35, and Melissa Goelz, 29, drove 13 hours from Farmington to Pittsburg County in Oklahoma in mid-April to pick up the boy and then returned to Farmington with a stop at a motel along the way, authoritie­s said.

The women remained jailed Thursday in the San Juan County Adult Detention Center pending extraditio­n on fugitive warrants from Oklahoma. They were charged May 4 with kidnapping and lewd molestatio­n.

“It was very alarming. We knew it was going to be a bad situation if we didn’t act fast and get the boy located,” Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris told KRQE-TV in Albuquerqu­e.

Officials said the boy’s father reported him missing and Oklahoma authoritie­s reached out to officials in New Mexico, where police staked out Aragon’s home and found the boy.

Officials determined the women had been in contact with the boy through an online game. Using that connection, investigat­ors learned about Aragon and tracked her cellphone.

A probable cause affidavit filed by a Pittsburg County investigat­or said the boy told an FBI agent that he had told the women that he wanted to go home, the McAlester (Oklahoma) News-Capitol reported.

However, Aragon told the boy that he “had to either go with them now or that he would be left on the side of the road naked,” the affidavit said.

Court records don’t list defense attorneys who could comment on the allegation­s.

 ??  ?? Kristen Aragon
Kristen Aragon
 ??  ?? Melissa Goelz
Melissa Goelz

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