Sheriff: Family Friend Arrested in Missing Gabrielle Swainson Case

Update (10:15 a.m.): A family friend of Gabrielle Swainson is in jail on kidnapping charges, .

But Gabrielle Swainson has not been found, according to an update this morning from Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.

According to Lott, Freddie Grant, 52, was cutting the grass at the home of Gabbiee, a 15-year-old Ridge View High School student, on the morning she went missing. Cell phone records led deputies to Grant's Elgin home, where they found her DNA and blood on a piece of duct tape.

Grant was the boyfriend of Swainson's mother, according to an arrest warrant, but Sheriff Lott wouldn't elaborate on Grant's connection to the family other than saying he was an acquaintance who did some yard work for them.

More than 60 FBI officers and 60 Richland County sheriff's deputies are searching for Gabbiee in a junkyard. 

When deputies first questioned Grant last week, he wasn't cooperating, Lott said.  

"Once we looked at his record and history, then immediately a flag went up," Lott said.

Grant has several prior convictions, including kidnapping. Deputies returned to his house at 1009 Kelly Street in Elgin Sunday with an arrest warrant.

Deputies still don't know how Grant knew that Swainson was alone in the house, Lott said. They also don't know how he got in. There was no sign of forced entry.

Swainson's mother, Elvia Swainson, has been cooperative and "strong" during the investigation, Lott said.

"Ten days ago, a mother had the biggest nightmare you could have," Lott said at a press conference Tuesday, "and that is to discover that your child has been abducted — particularly to discover that your child has been abducted from home where you think she's safe."

Officials are working to possibly connect this case to the case of another missing woman.

Twenty-eight-old Adriana Diana Laster of Elgin was reported missing earlier this year by a family member in Homestead, Fla. She hasn't been seen since Sept. 3, 2011. Deputies believe the cases may be related.

Original Post (9:30 a.m.): With the country wondering where Gabrielle Swainson is, the sheriff's office is working to provide the public with an update on the case. 

At 10 a.m. Patch will be posting live from the press conference. 

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