A teenage girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert last week made plans on Instagram to meet up with one of the suspects, a man who now faces human trafficking and kidnapping charges, arrest warrants show.
WRAL News obtained two warrants on Wednesday connected to the investigation into the late February disappearance of a 15-year-old Spring Lake girl:
Other WRAL Top Stories
- One for the Instagram messages between Elihue Martin Mahler and the girl
- One for Mahler's DNA
The girl’s mother told authorities about Instagram hidden messages between her daughter and someone else, according to one of the warrants.
According to the warrants, the girl arranged to meet up with Mahler, a 31-year-old man from Virginia Beach. The warrant says the messages show Mahler discussed picking her up.
The documents say messages from Feb. 25 show Mahler was on his way to the girl’s home to pick her up. He sent several messages with an estimated time of arrival.
“Delete all this before leaving,” one of the messages read.
Mahler also instructed the teen to “sneak out and start walking down the street,” according to the messages in the warrant.
The girl’s mother told investigators her daughter’s cellphone had parental controls preventing her from downloading certain social media apps. However, an Android tablet without parental controls was missing from the home, the warrant said.
The warrant states Mahler was also in contact with Austyn Lee Cole.
On Friday, prosecutors said Mahler took the teen to Virginia Beach before returning with her to North Carolina with the plan to turn her over to Cole in Kitty Hawk.
Authorities arrested Cole on Feb. 27 in Kitty Hawk. They arrested Mahler on Feb. 27 during a traffic stop. The girl was found in fair condition in the car, and authorities believe they were on the way to Kitty Hawk.
According to the warrant, authorities tracked movements of Mahler's car using cameras with license plate readers to find the teenage girl.
Cole and Mahler's arrests came a day after authorities issued an Amber Alert looking for the teen, who had been missing for two days.
Mahler and Cole both face the same charges of trafficking a child victim, kidnapping and felony conspiracy.
On Friday, a judge increased both of their bonds to $5 million. They are due in court again on March 11.