Search ends after missing girl abducted from Cayce hotel is found safe, officials say
The search for a 2-year-old girl who was abducted from a Cayce hotel Tuesday night ended when the girl was found safely, officials said.
But the man who stole a car with the girl inside remains wanted by the Cayce Department of Public Safety, according to spokesperson Ashley Hunter.
The child was abducted from the Quality Inn at 3020 Charleston Highway about 8:50 p.m. when a car was stolen, Hunter said.
An Amber Alert was issued for Carlee Folk at about 11:30 p.m., according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Both the child and the puppy were unharmed when they were found inside the car at about midnight near the intersection of Happytown and Fallaw roads in the Gaston area, Hunter said.
Officials say a man jumped into a vehicle parked at the hotel with the Carlee and a dog inside and drove away toward Fish Hatchery Road in Lexington County.
The car that belongs to Carlee’s mother is a 2003, tan-colored Lexus sedan with no license tag. The vehicle also has a taillight out and a white sticker with three small bears on the back window.
Law enforcement described the man who took the car as a Black male, who’s about 5-foot-7, with a short dreadlock hairstyle, and he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, and dark color shoes.
Anyone with information about the man accused of the abduction is asked to call the Cayce Department of Public Safety at 803-794-0456.
An AMBER alert is an emergency message issued when law enforcement believes a child is in imminent danger, according to the Department of Justice.
“Thank you to all citizens that called in tips, to the diligence of our Cayce (officers) and the assistance of SLED, FBI, Lexington County Sheriff’s Office and other area agencies,” Hunter said.
The timing of Tuesday night’s alleged abduction is added urgency to Cayce authorities’ efforts.
The abduction comes almost exactly a year after 6-year-old Faye Swetlik went missing while outside her Cayce home. The girl’s body was found in a shallow grave in a wooded area a few hundred feet from her home three days later. Cayce police concluded that a 30-year-old who lived nearby abducted and killed Faye and killed himself.
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This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 11:04 PM.
