Jefferson County Man Arrested After Missing Iowa Girl Is Found
A Jefferson County man is in jail after a missing juvenile from Iowa was found in Jefferson County. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office had been contacted by the West Des Moines, IA police department alerting them that a missing 13 year old girl could be in Jefferson County. Deputies went to two locations in an attempt to locate the missing girl after Jefferson County E-911 received a call about a young girl who had shown up at a residence stating she had been kidnapped. Deputies found the girl and confirmed she was the missing juvenile from Iowa.
Investigators with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office found that 37 year old Martin Amaya Sandoval Jr of New Market had been communicating with the victim on social media. The investigation revealed that Sandoval had driven 13 hours to West Des Moines on Saturday, picked up the victim and then drove her back to Jefferson County. The investigation also revealed that the victim and Sandoval had several sexual encounters. Sandoval was located and taken into custody. He is charged with 4 counts of Aggravated Statutory Rape and is currently being held in the Jefferson County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. The victim has since been taken back to Iowa. A joint investigation between Jefferson County and West Des Moines, Iowa authorities is continuing.