EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A 20-year-old suspected kidnapper has been arrested and charged with multiple crimes after he was found with a missing Texas teenage girl outside of Deming, New Mexico, on Friday, Aug. 22, according to the New Mexico State Police (NMSP).
Kyle Steven Eckmann was booked into the Luna County Jail on the following charges, according to State Police:
- Kidnapping in the first degree
- Aggravated assault upon a peace officer with a deadly weapon
- Aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer
- Child abuse
- Intimidation of a witness
According to NMSP, shortly after 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 22, license plate readers alerted officers to a Volkswagen sedan traveling westbound on Interstate 10.
The license plate readers’ “hit” indicated that the vehicle was connected to the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl from Texas.
Officers then found the Volkswagen near milepost 88 on I-10, outside of Deming.
When officers turned on their emergency lights and sirens, the driver crossed the center median and eastbound lanes before crashing into a water-filled ditch, according to NMSP.
According to State Police, officers approached the vehicle and found Eckmann and a girl standing outside.
Eckmann threatened officers as they were approaching, claiming he was armed and would shoot them, while motioning towards his waistband, according to NMSP.
NMSP said officers then determined that Eckmann was “in fact” unarmed and arrested him without incident.
As Eckmann was being escorted to a patrol car, he “ordered” the girl not to speak with police, State Police said.
The NMSP later confirmed the girl to be a missing 15-year-old from Texas, and she was placed with the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, which notified her parents.
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