Good Samaritans Rescue Carlie Trent, Hold Uncle at Gunpoint

Authorities say she was abducted by her uncle last week
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2016 4:44 PM CDT
Updated May 12, 2016 6:55 PM CDT
Carlie Trent Found, Uncle Taken Into Custody
Carlie Trent   (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation via the Rogersville Police Department via AP)

Authorities say a 9-year-old girl abducted by her uncle last week in Tennessee was found Thursday, WATE reports. According to the AP, authorities are crediting two Good Samaritans for rescuing Carlie Trent and apprehending her uncle, Gary Simpson. Donnie Lawson and Roger Carpenter heard law enforcement believed Simpson and Carlie could be in a remote area, so they decided to check out a wooded area accessible only by ATV. When they found the missing girl and her uncle, Carpenter, a baptist minister, held Simpson at gunpoint while Lawson called the police. The director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation calls the men heroes for finding Carlie.

Authorities say Simpson, who recently lost custody of Carlie to her father, picked the girl up from school on May 4, WHNT reports. An Amber Alert was issued the next day. Authorities believed Carlie was in "imminent danger" and thought Simpson might be hiding with her in an "isolated area." The two were found in the Clinch Mountain area about 20 miles from Carlie's school. Simpson was taken into custody, and Carlie was taken to the hospital "as a precautionary measure," according to WATE. She did not appear to have been harmed. (More missing child stories.)

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