**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

**Contact:**

Chad Flowers  

Public Information Officer  

919-618-1332  

cflowers@ncsbi.gov  

On February 26, 2025, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Criminal Apprehension Team (CAT) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were requested by the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office to assist with a child abduction case. The 15-year-old juvenile from Spring Lake, NC, was abducted in the early morning of February 25, 2025, and quickly reported missing by her family.  As a result, an Amber Alert was issued.

Using electronic and other advanced surveillance techniques, CAT agents gathered information indicating that the victim had been transported to Kitty Hawk, NC, and Virginia Beach, VA, by two suspects. Working in collaboration with the Kitty Hawk Police Department, members of CAT and the FBI successfully located and safely recovered the abducted juvenile at a residence in Kitty Hawk, NC.

31-year-old Elihue Martin Mahler of Virginia Beach, VA, and 23-year-old Austyn Lee Cole of Kitty Hawk, NC, were arrested without incident. Both are charged with:

• felony human trafficking of a child victim
• felony kidnapping
• felony conspiracy to kidnap
• felony conspiracy, human trafficking

Both men are currently being housed in the Harnett County Jail and are awaiting their first court appearance tomorrow morning.  This case is currently under further investigation by the SBI, FBI, and the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office. Updates regarding this case will be provided on our social media platforms, through press releases, or on our website at www.ncsbi.gov.

####