AULT, Colo. — The Ault Police Department is asking for the public's help after a kidnapped girl from South Dakota was assaulted and left in an Ault parking lot.
Around 8:30 a.m. Monday, Ault officers were dispatched to a welfare check just north of town on Highway 85, where they found a girl. The girl told officers she was left in Ault by two men who had "taken her without consent" from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The two men traveled to Colorado in a stolen vehicle, committing crimes along the way, according to Ault police. Overnight, the two men and the girl got into an argument in a parking lot in the 200 block of South Highway 85. One of the men pointed an "AR-15 style rifle" at the girl's head before assaulting her with the weapon, according to Ault PD.
The girl told officers that the men still had her friend, also a juvenile, without consent. Ault police said the vehicle was seen traveling to Fort Collins following the incident.
Nebraska State Patrol located the two men and the juvenile inside another stolen vehicle less than five hours after the search was initiated, according to Ault PD. The two men, who were not identified, were arrested on multiple charges.
Ault PD is asking for the community's help in its investigation. Anyone who may have seen a red VW Beetle with a tan-colored convertible top and South Dakota license plate 44MSB4 in Ault between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Sunday is asked to contact the department at 970-356-1212. Ault PD is also asking anyone who may have security camera video of the incident to come forward.
A spokesperson for Ault PD said detectives are investigating whether this could be trafficking, which is standard protocol in this type of investigation.
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