A 16-year-old reported missing in North Carolina was found hidden under a trap door inside a man’s home in Lincoln County, Kentucky, according to reports from WTVQ.
On Christmas Day, police received a call from the mother of 34-year-old Zackary Jones about an “altercation between her son and his girlfriend” on Robertstown Road. At the home, police found Jones but could not find his girlfriend.
Upon reentering the home to search for the “girlfriend,” a trap door was discovered hidden underneath a rug in one of the bedrooms. A 16-year-old girl was found inside that trap door, according to WTVQ.
According to WTVQ, police found drug paraphernalia with residue after Jones allowed them to walk through the home. He was then “restrained” and taken to a patrol car.
The teen had been missing from her home in North Carolina since Dec. 6., and she told police that Jones had been engaged in sexual acts with her and had strangled her, among other things. The two had also been using crack cocaine and marijuana.
According to WTVQ, Jones had allegedly driven to North Carolina to pick the 16-year-old up after communicating with her online. He was armed with a handgun, according to police.
Jones has been charged with assault, strangulation, two counts of unlawful transaction with a minor, resisting arrest, unlawful imprisonment, drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence, rape, sodomy, use of a minor in a sexual transaction by electronic means, and terroristic threatening.
Additional charges may be pending, according to WTVQ.