Texas woman charged with kidnapping 13-year-old girl from Moody gas station

By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.comA Texas woman has been charged with second-degree kidnapping after a 13-year-old girl was picked up from a Moody gas station earlier this week. Moody police on Friday announced charges against 47-year-old Carmelita Arguijo, and said she has previously faced charges of human smuggling.The investigation began about 1 p.m. Tuesday when Moody police received a call reporting the teen had been kidnapped from a Circle K gas station.Using the Flock camera system, along with CCTV footage from surrounding businesses, officers were able to identify a suspect vehicle – described in lookout bulletins broadcast over law enforcement radios as a Chevrolet Camaro with Texas license plates.Bessemer police later located the vehicle, the suspect and the teen girl on Interstate 59/20.Moody Chief Reece Smith said the person who called 911 Monday had taken the 13-year-old and her younger brother from Tuscaloosa a day earlier without permission from the custodial parent.That incident remains under investigation by Tuscaloosa police investigators.Detectives determined that the teen girl and Arguijo had previous communication through an undisclosed online platform and that led to Monday’s meet-up.Police say Arguijo picked up the girl at the Circle K near exit 144 on I-20 with plans to travel across state lines.The girl and her younger brother are safe, police said.The investigation is ongoing by Moody police, the FBI’s North Alabama Violent Crimes Task Force, and ALEA’s Internet Crimes Against Children. Carol Robinson is a senior reporter for AL.com, covering crime, public safety and breaking news in more than 30 Alabama counties. She began her journalism career at The Birmingham News in 1986, and has covered...