JBLM soldier accused of child rape of girl, 12

ELMA, Wash. — A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in Elma, Washington, has been arrested.

The 23-year-old man was booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail for investigation of second-degree rape of a child.

KCPQ-TV of Seattle reports the girl's mother heard her daughter leave her Elma home without permission early Monday morning, reported her missing, then later spotted a suspicious car parked nearby. Sheriff's Deputy Steve Shumate says the mother found her daughter and the man in the car. The woman reportedly grabbed the young man's keys to keep him from driving off before officers could arrive to arrest him.

Investigators say the two may have met while using an instant messaging application called KIK.

Sheriff's officers are trying to determine whether there might be other victims.

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