The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at about 5:34 p.m., deputies received an alert regarding a missing 12-year-old girl from Clearwater, Florida.

The young girl was believed to be en route to a Greensboro address where a “known suspect” was living.

According to a report released on Thursday, Feb. 20,  “The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Pinellas Park Police Department, which advised department deputies that an Amber Alert was entered for the child and an arrest warrant had been issued on the suspect for the following charges: ‘False Imprisonment – Child Under 13 Years of Age,’ as well as with ‘Family Offense – Interfere with Custody of a Minor.’

At about 7:10 on Wednesday night, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Greensboro address where they discovered both the missing child and the suspect.

Deputies arrested 39-year-old Kassin Rodriguez who lives in Greensboro, and served him with a Magistrate’s Order for Arrest from Guilford County. He was charged with being a fugitive from justice and charged for Failure to Appear since he previously didn’t show up in court for a Felony Larceny of a Motor Vehicle charge he was and still is facing.

Currently, Rodriguez is being held in the Guilford County Detention Center in downtown Greensboro.

Since he’s clearly a flight risk, he is being held without bond.

The good news is that the child was found safe and has been returned to a legal guardian.

On Thursday, Feb 20 the Sheriff’s Office noted publicly that it wanted to offer its appreciation to the Guilford deputies involved, the Pinellas Park Police Department, and Guilford County Child Protective Services for their help in ensuring the child’s safety.

Since this remains an active investigation, the Sheriff’s Office is providing no further details at this time.

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