A 10-year-old California girl was kidnapped by a man who communicated with her through Roblox and Discord, two wildly popular online gaming platforms for children.
The girl’s family reported her missing to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office at 10 a.m. on April 13.
Family members told deputies that the girl was last seen the night before, when she was at home. She vanished between bedtime and the next morning.
Sheriff’s detectives searched the girl’s digital devices and accounts on Roblox and Discord. Her online communications revealed that a 27-year-old man, Matthew Macatuno Naval, had exchanged messages with her.
Naval lives in Elk Grove, Calif. in Sacramento County, 300 miles north from the girl’s home in Kern County.
“It was suspected that the victim was communicating with Naval through Roblox and Discord, leading to their abduction,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Detectives alerted the Elk Grove Police Department. EGPD officers found Naval with the 10-year-old girl at a strip mall in Elk Grove.
“The juvenile was located and temporarily taken into protective custody until released back to their family,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
On April 13 at 3:35 p.m., Naval was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor child.
