Man arrested in missing girl case
Westminster police on Wednesday arrested a 30year-old man on suspicion of sexual assault in connection with the case of an 11-year-old girl who went missing overnight Tuesday.
A tip from a construction worker in the neighborhood where she went missing led investigators to find the girl and arrest the suspect.
Michael Patrick Buckley was arrested on a charge of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of abuse, police announced Thursday in a blog post.
The girl was reported missing Tuesday evening after telling her mother she was going to a nearby park and failing to return home. She was found Wednesday after a public tip led investigators to her, police said.
A construction worker at a home in the area told investigators that the girl approached him about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday and asked to use his cellphone so she could “call her boyfriend,” according to an arrest affidavit in the case.
The girl had to make a second call, calling the same number, and she told the worker that her “boyfriend” was five minutes away. The girl claimed to be 23 and she told the worker she had met her boyfriend on Craigslist, which he was using to sell rats, according to the affidavit.
The concerned worker saw a silver Acura with a Colorado license plate pull up, and the girl got into the front passenger seat. The worker took photos of the car, including the license plate. The worker got a good look at the driver and noticed that he was missing a pinky finger, according to the affidavit.
The construction worker, through the homeowner for whom he’s working, contacted police on Wednesday after the worker saw the Amber Alert and photos of the missing girl.
Investigators used the license plate of the vehicle to track it to Buckley. When officers knocked at his front door, Buckley, who police said is missing a pinky, answered, according to the affidavit. Police found the girl was inside the residence and arrested Buckley.
On Thursday morning, Buckley was being held without bail at the Jefferson County jail. He has a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday.