Guardia Civil officers became suspicious after the driver and the girl gave inconsistent explanations during an overnight vehicle check near Lorca.
MURCIA — June 26, 2026
A man in his 70s has been arrested in Lorca on suspicion of corruption of a minor and encouraging a child to leave residential care after Guardia Civil officers found a missing teenage girl travelling in his car.
The arrest followed an overnight vehicle checkpoint on a road leading into Lorca as part of the Guardia Civil’s wider crime-prevention programme.
Officers stopped a car shortly after 2am and found the elderly man driving with a girl who appeared to be underage.
Their explanations about why they were travelling together and the nature of their relationship were reportedly inconsistent and unclear, prompting officers to carry out further checks.
Investigators then established that the girl had been reported missing after leaving a children’s residential centre in Murcia without permission.
According to the Guardia Civil, evidence gathered during the inquiry indicated that the teenager may have been compelled to live with the man.
He was subsequently arrested as the suspected perpetrator of offences involving the corruption of a minor and inducing a child to leave their home or place of care.
The girl was taken into protective custody and returned to the care of the Murcia regional authorities.
