Authorities stated last month that they had arrested a United States Marine after the body of a missing 14-year-old girl was found at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California.
The girl’s grandma allegedly reported her disappearance to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office on June 13th.
On June 28th, she was discovered hiding in the Camp Pendleton barracks. Capt. Charles Palmer, spokesman for the 1st Marine Logistics Group, said that a Marine from the Combat Logistics Battalion 5 had been detained for interrogation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services.
In a statement, Palmer said that the command takes any allegations about the matter very seriously. He said that an investigation into the incident had begun and that the business would continue to work with the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) and other relevant authorities.
According to the sheriff’s office, the teen was questioned by detectives, the family was offered more help, and the girl was returned to her grandmother.
A subsequent request for clarification on the extent of the sheriff’s office’s assistance to the family went unanswered.
The girl’s name has been kept secret from the public. The sheriff’s office said in a statement that it does not publicize personal details about victims under 18 years old.
The investigation is ongoing, and the adolescent has not made any further comments or explained how she ended up at Camp Pendleton. There has been no public disclosure of either of these facts.
In an interview broadcast on Monday, the girl’s aunt expressed concern that the Marines could be attempting to conceal illegal activity.
According to Perez’s interview, some base employees are “leaking” potentially incriminating social media posts.
Perez said she is concerned that detectives would try to pin the incident on her niece. The aunt said no matter what, her niece was not of the age to consent, implying much more about this incident than has been told.
