An 11-year old girl in Pennsylvania was riding her bike Sunday to visit her sister when she stopped at a gas station and went to a Dollar General. There, a 43-year-old man allegedly offered to give her a ride and lured her into his vehicle, according to KIRO 7. Reportedly, the man touched her stomach area under her shirt and her leg when she asked to be taken to a friend's house, per the Westmoreland County District Attorneyâs Office.
When the girl was reported missing, authorities learned she had an iPad with her and they used geolocation to find her. The suspect was arrested Monday.
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The police found her 10 miles away.
The 11-year-old girl reportedly told authorities she was riding to Pittsburgh from Youngwood, Pennsylvania, more than 30 miles away, to visit her sister on Sunday, per Yahoo! Life. At some point, she parked her bike at a gas station and went inside a Dollar General.
Authorities said the suspect, Keith Lilliock, approached the girl and talked to her, allegedly offering her a ride and saying he could âtake her where she wanted to go once he closed the store for the night," reported Westmoreland Crime Watch PA.
Authorities responded to a report of a missing child on March 26, and a bloodhound team sent to the area picked up the girl's scent near the gas station. Investigators learned she had the iPad and were able to ping its geolocation, which showed she was 10 miles outside of Youngwood at a house in nearby Latrobe, per KIRO 7.
The man denied touching her.
Lilliock was arrested and charged with luring a child into a vehicle and interference with the custody of children, a statement released by authorities read, according to Yahoo! Life.
Though the girl gave a statement saying the man "touched" her, he denied it but did admit to giving her a ride. Lilliock reportedly said he "used to be a bad guy" but that he is a "born-again Christian" now and "found Jesus," per Westmoreland Crime Watch PA. He is being held at Westmoreland County Prison without bond.
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The girl's story highlights the importance of geolocation use on devices.
Geolocation on devices such as smartphones and iPads has often been a controversial topic, especially with concerns over privacy. Sometimes the concern is over certain apps tracking behavior online when the geolocation is enabled. In this case, geolocation was the key to finding her quickly.
According to the Apple website, you can allow some apps access to only your "approximate" location or your "precise" location or to allow it only while using the app. You also can use the âfind myâ service to locate iPhones or iPads.
Several helpful functions exist with this service, such as âshare my locationâ that will send your location to family and friends or âsend last locationâ that will send your location to Apple when the battery is low, per the Apple website.
People online have questions about where the girl's parents were and why they allowed her to travel alone so far on her bike.
âAn 11-year-old child was riding her bike to another town to see her sister? Where are her parents? Something doesn't smell right about this story, but I'm glad she was found safe,â someone commented on the Yahoo! Life story.
âWhat kind of parent gives an 11 year old a bike to ride to a store at night? Took note of the fact that the kid wanted to go to a friends home not theirs," another reader commented.
