Fort Worth

Fort Worth Police: Missing 6-Year-Old Found Alive

The Fort Worth Police Department confirmed a missing 6-year-old girl has been found alive in a park near her home.

Police arrested Edis Leonel Moya Alas. On Sunday morning, he was charged with aggravated kidnapping. On Sunday afternoon, police added the charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child. 

mmigration Customs Enforcement also determined Alas is in the United States illegally. 

Immigration Customs Enforcement also determined Alas is in the United States illegally. 

Editor's Note: It is NBCDFW's policy not to identify sexual assault victims. On Saturday evening, her father told several media outlets that she had not been sexually assaulted and allowed her to be photographed by several outlets. Once FWPD added the charge on Sunday, we edited our article and removed the girl's name and picture.

The victim had last been seen at about 10:00 p.m. Friday when her father said he locked and secured the house and went to bed.

Her father woke up at approximately 4:00 a.m. and discovered the front door open and the girl missing. The police were called soon after and immediately began a search.

Saturday afternoon police received a call from a resident who lives by Tidus Park near the child's home. The caller reported hearing screams from a thicketed area near the park.

"We owe a great debt to the citizen who acutally heard the screams and notified us to go into that field area," said Fort Worth Police Capt. Deven Pitt.

Fort Worth police completed a search and upon entering the wooded area saw a man with the missing child. He began to run and the child ran toward police.

"He hid from officers. There wasn't much of an area for him to run back there," Pitt said. "She was very scared. She was very nervous. She obviously didn't get to where she was by herself."

That man has been detained, but his identity has not been released. Police say he is not a suspect, but is a person of interest.

"Right now, he's just being interviewed to find out what kind of involvement he had in this," Pitt said. "All we know is that he was in the presence of a child that he had no business being around at this point."

Police say the investigation is ongoing.

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