Utah Girl Abducted By Man She Met Online: Police

CHEYENNE, WY — A Florida man kidnapped a 13-year-old Utah girl whom he'd met online using a virtual reality headset, police said, and authorities found the girl safe inside a semi-truck at a truck stop in Wyoming.

The girl was reported missing in Roosevelt, Utah, last week. Investigators from local, state and federal agencies determined Chris Evans, 25, of Fort Pierce, Florida, had talked with her online for about a month using Meta's Oculus virtual reality headset, police said.

Evans made contact with the girl in Utah and took her to a truck stop in Cheyenne, police said. Authorities used cellphone data and communication apps to find Evans's location. On the afternoon of Thursday, March, 10, Cheyenne police, alerted by the FBI, found a white bobtail semi-truck matching Evans's vehicle description. Officers surrounded the truck and knocked on the door. A man matching his description got out and said the missing girl was in the back of the truck.

He was arrested without incident and booked into the Laramie County Jail.

"The juvenile is in good health and will soon be reunited with her family," Cheyenne police said Friday.

Police said they found the girl within an hour of Evans being identified as a suspect.

He faces charges of felony child kidnapping and misdemeanor harboring a runaway, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Evans reportedly sent a Facebook message to the girl around 5:30 a.m. on March 8 that said “I’m waiting” over the Oculus platform. The message came from the user “Monkey King Budda,” The Tribune reported.