Arrests made in connection to Utah girl, 14, found injured in canal, police say
SMITHFIELD, Utah -- Two men have been taken into custody in connection to a 14-year-old Utah girl who was found injured about six hours after she went missing, Smithfield County police said Saturday.
A family friend found the girl in a canal ten miles from her home around 12:45 a.m. Friday morning, according to Lt. Mike Petersen with Cache County Sheriff’s Department, CBS affiliate KUTV reports.
Police say the girl had significant but unspecified injuries and that authorities are investigating “suspicious circumstances” surrounding the incident. The girl received medical treatment and was transported to a local hospital, and then was later transported by helicopter to a Salt Lake City hospital, KUTV reports.
A volunteer searcher spotted the girl early Friday morning in the canal near a Smithfield high school, not the school she attends. She had been reported missing early Thursday evening after she failed to return home late that afternoon.
Authorities say they are unsure how the girl wound up in the canal or what kind of injuries she sustained, KUTV reports. They say they’re looking at surveillance video to find out what happened between when she disappeared and when she was found.
Cache County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Peterson said cold nighttime temperatures made it a relief that the girl was found when she was.