Texas man arrested in Amber Alert investigation out of Utah faces criminal charges

MAGNA — An arrest warrant has been issued for a Texas man who sparked an Amber Alert after picking up a teen girl in Magna and driving her back to his state.

Frank David Lopez-Orellana, 20, of Houston, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping and rape, both first-degree felonies. Lopez-Orellana was arrested on March 22 and remained in a Texas jail on Thursday. A no-bail warrant was issued Thursday with the filing of criminal charges to have him extradited back to Utah.

On March 21, the mother of a 14-year-old girl was told by the girl's friends that her daughter had left with a 20-year-old man and that "he was possibly going to take her to another state," according to charging documents. The girl also left a note for her mother stating "she wanted to leave and would make her mother proud by leaving," the charges state.

That same day, the girl called some of her friends to meet up so she could say "goodbye," according to the charges. When the friends saw the girl, she was with her "boyfriend," who was later identified as Lopez-Orellana. The girl told her friends they were going to Texas, the charges state.

Unified police were contacted and an Amber Alert was issued on March 22. By that night, Lopez-Orellana and the girl were located in San Antonio.

When questioned by police, Lopez-Orellana stated that he met the girl online and the two talked daily using social media, "even after he learned she was 14-years old," according to the charges. He said he also had sex with the girl in his car while they were driving to Texas.

Investigators also learned Lopez-Orellana is originally from Honduras, was in the United States illegally and was in "deportation status out of Houston" at the time of his arrest, the charges state.

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