Missing Florida girl found safe in South Carolina
(CNN) -- A 12-year-old Florida girl missing since Monday was found "alive and well" Wednesday night in Easley, South Carolina, and a 25-year-old acquaintance of her brothers was taken into custody, police said.
The two were found about 8:30 p.m. at a Wal-Mart, about 10 miles from Greenville in northwest South Carolina, according to Bradenton, Florida, Police Chief Mike Radzilowski.
The Amber Alert issued for Margarita Aguilar-Lopez was canceled, and she was expected to return to Florida on Thursday. Her parents live in Mexico.
"We're happy that we recovered her alive and well, and we've made one arrest so far," Radzilowski said.
The police chief said details were sketchy, and it was still unclear whether Aguilar-Lopez was kidnapped or left Florida willingly with Antonio Paulino-Perez, who was arrested on a Florida warrant charging him with interfering with parental custodial rights, a third-degree felony.
Aguilar-Lopez was staying in a Bradenton motel with her two older brothers, who told police they last saw her Monday night, when they left her and two toddlers in the care of Paulino-Perez while they went to buy liquor, said Bradenton Police Maj. J.J. Lewis.
When the brothers returned about 30 minutes later, the two young girls were alone. Lewis said they were unharmed. All involved in the case are undocumented immigrants who work on farms, he said.
Bradenton is south of Tampa Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report.
