UPDATE: The girl has been found in Arizona and the man was arrested.
By Clair McFarland, Cowboy State Daily
clair@cowboystatedaily.com
A two-state Amber Alert dispatched to Wyoming and Montana is the result of what authorities believe is a “grooming situation” involving a 14-year-old girl and a 36-year-old man.
Josselyn Jeanne, a Casper woman, posted to her Facebook page Wednesday night that her 14-year-old daughter Gracelyn Pratt was missing after having skipped school that day. The Casper Police Department said the girl was reported as a runaway.
“She is assumed to be picked up by James Martin,” a 36-year-old man who quit his job that same morning, Jeanne said. The police confirmed that Martin and the girl had left town together.
She added that the pair could be headed toward Devils Tower or Cody.
Martin was reportedly driving a black Ford F-150 double cab with license plate No. 1 – 3 6 9 2 9. The Amber Alert listed the vehicle description alone. Police noted that the truck has a “lift kit.”
Chris McGuire, coordinator for Wyoming Amber Alert, said the alert went to Montana as well as Wyoming because the pair could be headed that way.
McGuire said it’s a suspected “grooming situation.”
The Casper Police Department said the girl had been having “long-term communication” with an adult family acquaintance.
“Detectives learned that Martin and Gracelyn recently had been seen together in the days leading up to Gracelyn being reported as a runaway,” reads a Thursday statement by the department.
“It is believed at this time that Gracelyn is with Martin, and Martin is interfering with the
legal custody of a minor child in violation of Wyoming State Statute,” the statement reads, adding that both the girl and the man have been seen in the Martin’s vehicle.
Gracelyn is 5’1, weighing 109 pounds, has blue eyes and blonde hair, according to the statement. Martin is 5’10, weighing between 260-300 pounds, has blue eyes and brown hair.
“If you see Martin, Gracelyn, or the 2014 black truck, please contact the Casper Police
Department at 307-235-8278 or 911,” reads the statement. “For general investigation inquiries, please contact the Casper Police Department’s Det. Jacobs at 307-235-8286.”
