Abducted California girl, 15, found unharmed at rest stop

Dale McClellan had just finished unclogging a urinal at the Bow Hill rest area south of Bellingham when he heard the statewide alert on his van's radio: Police were looking for an abducted teenage girl in a green pickup with California plates.

"I was just hitting the onramp, and I remembered the truck" in the parking lot, said McClellan, 48, a state transportation maintenance technician.

"I thought, 'Oh man, that is too much of a coincidence. I'm probably wrong, but I'm going to back up just to satisfy myself.' "

He saw the truck and called authorities. Several minutes later, a State Patrol trooper rolled in and found the missing girl, who had disappeared earlier this week from her home in Paso Robles, Calif., north of Los Angeles.

The 15-year-old was in the truck, unharmed.

Edgar Alberto Monge, 48, apparently a friend of the girl's family, was arrested at the rest area on suspicion of kidnapping. FBI agents were interviewing both of them last night.

Paso Robles police Sgt. Robert Burton said the girl's parents reported her missing Tuesday. She left the house to get some mail but never returned, Burton said. The mail was found on the doorstep, he said.

Monge called the girl's family from a cellphone and said they were in San Diego, but the call was traced to Oregon, Burton said.

The girl then called her family sometime Thursday night or early yesterday, saying she was being held against her will, Burton said. That call was tracked to the Tacoma or Tukwila area.

Burton thinks Monge was driving to Canada.

Local law-enforcement agencies activated an Amber Alert about 1:30 p.m. yesterday. Bulletins with the girl's description, Monge's description and their vehicle — a green 1995 Chevrolet Silverado pickup — were broadcast statewide over emergency airwaves. Highway reader boards flashed similar messages.

Both McClellan and another person at the rest area called 911 about 3 p.m. Monge was unarmed and surrendered to the trooper without a struggle, said Patrol Lt. Jeff Sass.

McClellan said the truck must have been at the rest area for at least 90 minutes.

Amber Alerts are designed to quickly transmit information about kidnapped children. The system is named after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old Texas girl who was abducted and killed in 1996.

"We can't thank the public enough for their alertness," Sass said.

Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com