Kidnapped 13-year-old girl found in parked car at Florida shopping center


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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Wisconsin man wanted for allegedly kidnapping a 13-year-old girl was caught in a Florida shopping center last week.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to WFLA on Feb. 13 that the suspect, 35-year-old Tyler Michael Berlick, of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, was found in the Florida Keys after deputies ran his license plate.

Berlick entered the Pink Plaza shopping center around 3:25 a.m. Authorities said the teenage girl was sitting in his car.

“We figured out pretty quickly he’s not her father or a relative,” Monroe County Sherriff Rick Ramsay told the Miami Herald.

According to authorities, deputies searched Berlick’s name in the national criminal database and saw that he had an out-of-state warrant with underlying charges of kidnapping.

Ramsay said the FBI is involved in the investigation.

According to Ramsay, as deputies were holding Berlick on the side of the road, the girl became agitated and indicated that she wanted to harm herself. Authorities then called the Florida Department of Children and Family Services, where she is in protective custody receiving mental health services until she can return to South Carolina.

“This is probably something that will affect her the rest of her life,” the sheriff said.

Sheriff Ramsay said while the girl was reported missing from South Carolina, it’s unclear what part of the state she’s from, how long she’s been missing, or who reported her missing.

According to arrest reports, Berlick was arrested on that out-of-state warrant. He is currently being held at the Monroe County Detention Center on no bond.


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