Sex offender is arrested in girl's abduction

By EVE HIGHTOWER
ehightower@modbee.com

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A registered sex offender police suspect of kidnapping a 14-year-old Modesto girl early Saturday morning is in custody and the girl has been found.

Jared D. Conway, 38, was a family friend and had been living with the girl and her family for a month before the abduction, said police spokesman Sgt. Craig Gundlach.

The girl was found in the trunk of Conway's car at 6 a.m. Saturday, three hours after her father reported that she and Conway were missing, police said.

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Police did not release the girl's name.

The girl was flown to the University of California at Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for injuries sustained when Conway crashed his silver Honda Civic while fleeing police.

Police chased Conway after he drove past the girl's home in the 2500 block of Garvey Avenue, where police had started investigating the disappearance.

Conway crashed into a Chevy truck with two adults and at least two children on Veneman Avenue, about a mile from the house, police said. No one in the truck was injured.

It's unknown why Conway drove past the house, Gundlach said.

The girl was taken to the Vintage Faire Mall parking lot and flown by helicopter to the UC Davis medical center. Though she did not sustain life-threatening injuries, paramedics were concerned about a possible spinal injury, Gundlach said.

"She survived a vehicle collision in the trunk of a car. She was pretty shaken up but alert," he said.

Conway was taken to a Modesto hospital for injuries from the crash and a scuffle with police, Gundlach said. After the crash, Conway ran. When police caught up with him, Conway fought them. He hit an officer's face and another officer's hand. To subdue Conway, police used a Taser, Gundlach said.

Police were questioning Conway and planned to book him at Stanislaus County Jail.

Police began their investigation about 3 a.m. Conway's slipper was found inside the girl's room. The girl's blanket was found outside her home along with a bracelet that looked as though it had been torn off her, Gundlach said.

Conway, who is listed on the Megan's law Web site for a rape, came home about two hours before the father noticed the two were missing.

Conway was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and resisting arrest and may face more charges, Gundlach said.

"The biggest question is what happened between the time the suspect came home and the time we found her in the trunk," he said.

Police are investigating the incident as an abduction and said they do not believe there was a romantic relationship between the two that might have led the girl to willingly run away with Conway.

Bee staff writer Eve Hightower can be reached at ehightower@modbee.com or 578-2382.