When a 15-year-old Sundance girl disappeared Monday morning, Wyoming investigators already had reason to fear she might be with an adult man.
Before she was reported missing, the Crook County Sheriff's Office and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation had been investigating concerns the girl was being groomed by an adult believed to live outside of Wyoming.
Then, at about 9:55 a.m. Monday, she was reported missing.
By 2:26 p.m. — just four hours and 31 minutes after the missing-person report — the girl was found safe in South Dakota.
Dalton Renollet, 36, of Maricopa, Arizona, was under arrest.
Cowboy State Daily confirmed Wednesday morning that Renollet is being held at the Davison County Jail in Mitchell, South Dakota.
Newly obtained court records identify him as Dalton Allan Renollet, born Jan. 8, 1990.
Renollet is being charged in Aurora County, South Dakota, at 3 p.m. with one count of sexual contact with a child under 16. His bond is set at $10,000 cash.
A probable-cause affidavit obtained Wednesday says Renollet had picked up the girl in Wyoming and was driving east on Interstate 90 when sexual contact occurred — within about a minute of the traffic stop that ended the search.
Additional charges are expected in Wyoming, and the Crook County Sheriff's Office says federal charges also are forthcoming.
Already Under Investigation
Crook County Sheriff Jeff Hodge said his office and Wyoming DCI was investigating concerns about the girl before she disappeared.
Once the girl disappeared, Hodge said, the existing investigation took on a new urgency.
The sheriff's office and DCI began working to determine where she went and who was with her. As investigators developed more information, they determined she had left Wyoming.
The FBI then joined the investigation as the search crossed state lines.
Authorities eventually identified the vehicle they believed the girl and the man were traveling in and began trying to determine where it was headed.
At first, investigators thought Renollet was taking the girl south toward his home state of Arizona. Wyoming authorities were working with law enforcement in Utah as they tried to intercept them, but Renollet's vehicle wasn't headed that way.
Found On I-90
License-plate reader technology detected the suspect vehicle in South Dakota, giving investigators the break they needed.
Wyoming authorities notified South Dakota's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on Monday afternoon that they were looking for a vehicle connected to what South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley had described as the abduction of the Sundance girl.
South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers were alerted.
Less than an hour later, they found the vehicle on Interstate 90 near the Aurora County line, east of Plankinton.
Troopers stopped it and took Renollet into custody.
The girl was safely recovered.
The newly released affidavit puts the stop at mile marker 295 and says Renollet had picked the girl up in Wyoming before driving east on I-90.
“A 15-year-old abducted and traumatized girl has been brought to safety by the excellent work of law enforcement,” Jackley said in announcing the arrest Tuesday.
Jackley also credited the license-plate readers with allowing authorities to turn a multi-state search into a successful recovery within an hour of South Dakota being notified.
“This incident demonstrates how valuable technology can be in protecting the public and assisting officers to locate a vulnerable juvenile and bring her to safety within an hour,” he said.
Sex Charge Filed
Renollet faces one publicly confirmed criminal charge in South Dakota: Sexual contact with a child under 16.
South Dakota DCI Special Agent Brina Larson wrote that Renollet was driving east on I-90 with the 15-year-old when he pulled down his pants and exposed himself to her.
Renollet separately admitted to DCI agents that sexual contact occurred while he was driving.
He also told investigators he knew the girl was 15 years old, Larson wrote.
Larson wrote that she arrested Renollet without a warrant Aug. 31 following the stop.
The Aurora County State's Attorney's Office is prosecuting that case, which remains pending.
Despite South Dakota authorities describing the investigation as a “youth sexual abduction,” no kidnapping charge had been publicly announced as of Wednesday.
The South Dakota Attorney General's Office says additional charges are expected in Wyoming.
Hodge went further, saying criminal charges are being pursued in Crook County and that federal charges also are forthcoming.
Crook County Circuit Court did not respond to requests for information, and a call to the court was placed on hold without an answer.
The FBI also had not responded Wednesday to a request for information about its involvement or the anticipated federal charges.
The probable-cause affidavit does not detail the alleged grooming, how Renollet and the girl first came into contact, or how long they had been communicating.
Second Grooming Case
For Hodge, Monday's case apparently isn't an isolated concern.
The sheriff said this is the second investigation involving the suspected grooming of a juvenile in Crook County in the past month, though no details about the earlier case have been released or publicly reported.
“These incidents demonstrate that online activities can quickly progress from electronic communication to extremely serious criminal conduct,” Hodge said.
He urged parents to remain involved in their children's online lives, know who they are communicating with, and pay attention to concerning changes in behavior.
“Protecting our children requires awareness not only from law enforcement, but from parents, schools and our entire community,” Hodge said.
The sheriff's office now plans to hold educational presentations aimed at helping parents and guardians recognize and prevent similar situations.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
