BATON ROUGE — A 17-year-old girl from Zachary is now safe after being found in Oklahoma with a 38-year-old truck driver.
Zachary Police Chief Daryl Lawrence says this latest case is different — and more alarming.
“We’ve dealt with social media on that part before, but we haven’t got to this extent,” Chief Lawrence said. “We’ve been able to cut it off before.”
But this time, he says, it went too far.
“By this extent, we just have to tell people to just make sure that they monitor their kids, their social media posts, and whatever they’re doing on social media.”
His message echoes what many are now realizing: what starts online can quickly become real-world danger.
The relief of the 17-year-old’s return is overshadowed by a chilling reality: this is not an isolated case. It’s a pattern. For one Louisiana mother, it’s a story she knows all too well.
MORE: Update: Officials confirm missing 17-year-old located in Oklahoma after kidnapping
A Mother’s Warning: “This didn’t start with abduction — It started online”
It was around Covid when a Livingston Parish girl fell victim to predators online. UWK is calling her mother Michelle to protect her identity. Her voice is steady, but her story is anything but.
“My daughter met these people online and they started showing up at her job,” she said.
What began as conversations turned into calculated manipulation.
“They built a relationship with her over months before taking her from our home,” Michelle said. “They didn’t just meet her. They groomed her.”
Within months, everything changed.
“Within a few months, she went from talking to them online to leaving home with them,” she said. “I went from having a normal, compliant child to watching her run out the door with strangers.”
Michelle says she jumped on the black van that her daughter was getting in to stop them.
“You are not going to take my daughter,” she screamed. It wasn’t enough.
MORE: “You can’t protect what you don’t know exists” | Mother of 13-year-old missing Baker girl speaks out
“They changed who she was”
Michelle says what happened next is something no parent is prepared for.
“They completely changed who my daughter was,” she said. “They made her believe her own family was the problem.”
Her daughter later accused her parents of abuse, triggering a DCFS investigation, something Michelle says is a known tactic used by predators to isolate children from their families.
“That’s how grooming works,” she said. “It slowly separates kids from their parents.”
She believes the trauma her daughter experienced goes far deeper than what she even knows.
“The trauma she experienced in that house, I know there’s still so much I don’t even know,” she said. “They destroyed her life.”
The Danger in Your Child’s Hand
Michelle says the most terrifying part is how easily it all began.
“This all started online through apps kids use every day,” she said. They’re apps parents often see as harmless.
“Parents think their kids are just scrolling but someone could be watching, targeting, grooming,” she said. “You don’t always know who your child is really talking to.”
She now believes every phone, or iPad, is a potential access point.
“My son was bullied online and had a complete mental break,” she said. “These apps don’t just connect kids. They can deeply damage them. You think you’re protecting your kids, but this phone is an open door to strangers,” she said. “Even in your own home, someone can be gaining access to your child.”
More Than One Child Targeted
What’s even more alarming — it didn’t stop with her daughter.
“My other kids were also contacted online,” she said. “It wasn’t just one child—multiple kids were being reached through social media.”
Her son also suffered deeply.
“If you don’t educate them, someone else will”
Michelle says like many parents, they never thought it could happen to them. Now, her message is urgent.
“You can’t just take everything away. You have to talk to your kids,” she said. “If you don’t educate them, someone else will.” Her warning is one every parent needs to hear: “This didn’t happen because we didn’t care. It happened because we didn’t know.”
MORE: Digital Age 101: What parents need to know about apps, online safety, and protecting kids
Experts Sound the Alarm: “This is scary”
Joshua Gill, Incident Commander with the United Cajun Navy, says cases like this are becoming more frequent and more dangerous. Gill, who has worked on high-profile missing children cases, says parents must be actively involved in their child’s digital life.
“Be aware of who your child’s talking to,” he said. “Be aware of their social media accounts. Sit down with your kids and let them know the dangers.”
He warns that new apps are constantly emerging — many designed to avoid detection.
“Session is an app I just learned about,” Gill said. “It’s a super encrypted chat app. Nothing good comes of it.”
His message is clear: visibility matters.
“Kids are going to be kids but parents need to know what’s going on,” he said.
Gill is a panelist an upcoming event, Parental Awareness Night.
A Community Call to Action
Pastor Donnie Swaggart says what’s happening is no longer distant or rare.
“Our children are being exposed to real dangers through devices we’ve placed in their hands,” Pastor Swaggart said.
He says the responsibility doesn’t fall on parents alone.
“It’s going to take all of us working together to protect the next generation.” He says the urgency has never been greater. “When we were growing up, danger was outside the home. Today, it’s inside the home, on a screen, and often hidden in plain sight.”
Parental Awareness Night: What You Need to Know
In response to growing concerns surrounding online safety and child exploitation, a local church has organized a Parental Awareness Night scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Family Worship Center.
The event will feature a powerful panel including:
- Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill
- FBI ASAC Percy Giles III
- Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard
- East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux
- Joshua Gill, United Cajun Navy
- Joshua Howard, LSU Digital Media Professor
- Pastor Donnie Swaggart & Dr. Gabriel Swaggart
- Chris Steele, Principal of Family Christian Academy
Moderated by investigative journalist Kiran Chawla.
Murrill has been a leading voice in the fight against online exploitation — even taking legal action against platforms like Roblox.
MORE: Louisiana, Roblox face off in court over child safety lawsuit
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