Authorities have reported that a Marine was apprehended last month after a 14-year-old girl, who had been reported missing by her grandmother, was found in the barracks of a California base.

On June 28, military police at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside discovered the teenager, just over two weeks after her grandmother had reported her disappearance to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, according to Melissa Aquino, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

Capt. Charles Palmer, the director of communications strategy and operations for the 1st Marine Logistics Group, confirmed in a statement that an unidentified Marine from Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group, was taken into custody by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) for questioning on June 28.

The Marine remains under the custody of his command, and no formal charges have been filed against him at this time, NBC News reports.

Capt. Palmer emphasized that the command takes this matter and all allegations very seriously.

The investigation is being supported by the sheriff’s department and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, in collaboration with NCIS, according to Aquino.

As of now, there has been no immediate response from the state attorney general’s office regarding the involvement of the human trafficking task force.

NBC San Diego initially reported this news.

Written by staff