Police searching for girl, suspect in kidnapping

By Brian McNeill

Published: June 22, 2008

Police are searching for a 29-year-old Charlottesville man who they say kidnapped a 13-year-old girl.

The girl, a resident of the 600 block of Elizabeth Avenue, went missing at around 8:30 Friday night from the Downtown Mall.

Charlottesville police investigators were working with state and federal law enforcement agencies to locate Eleno M. Garcia and the girl.

“It’s believed that they may have left the state,” said Sgt. Randy Higgins of the city police. “We’re trying to catch them before they leave the country.”

Garcia, a resident of the 600 block of Bolling Avenue, is wanted on charges of abduction and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Higgins said.

Officer Kyle Boynton of the Charlottesville police said investigators received a tip that Garcia and the girl might be headed to the Washington area. Boynton added that they may attempt to flee to Garcia’s native El Salvador.

Garcia and the girl are distantly related, but are also involved in a relationship with one another, Boynton said.

The case is Charlottesville’s second major search for a missing pre-teen in recent months.

A 12-year-old female Buford Middle School student disappeared on April 15 after coming home from school. Police believed that she left town with 31-year-old Jeremias Chagala-Mil of Charlottesville.

Local and federal authorities found the girl and Chagala-Mil in Chicago after a two-week manhunt.

Garcia was described as 5-feet-5-inches tall and 165 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. His vehicle is a white 2002 GMC Yukon with a license plate that reads “GERYLE.”

Garcia is also known as Eleno Garcia Jacinto.

The 13-year-old girl — whose name has not been released — was described as 5-feet-3-inches tall and 116 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.