GRANGEVILLE — A team of Idaho County Sheriff’s deputies and dispatchers were recognized during the county commission meeting Tuesday for their work in rescuing a juvenile who had been taken from her home in California.
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office in California received information that a juvenile who had been missing since August contacted a family member. The juvenile said she wanted to return home but was afraid.
The Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office pinged the girl’s location to an address in Woodland, near Kamiah. The girl had been reported as a runaway but circumstances surrounding her disappearance indicated she did not leave of her own free will.
Idaho County deputies and dispatchers coordinated with the Stanislaus department and eventually arrested Cristian Ceja, 27, of Turlock, Calif., on a felony warrant for contacting a minor for sexual gratification, contacting a minor using an electronic device for the purpose of sexual gratification, and oral copulation of a minor.
Ceja was also charged by the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, and providing shelter to a runaway.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said in a letter to Sheriff Ulmer, “I cannot thank you and your team enough for assisting our Special Victims Unit with this case. Idaho County Sheriff’s Office is hands down a top-notch team.”
