A 14-year-old girl missing from Aurora was found in Las Vegas after being picked up by a man she communicated with on social media over a week ago, according to Aurora police.

The teen — who The Denver Gazette is not identifying due to her age and the alleged crimes against her — was picked up from her house in Aurora by 26-year-old Christian Williamson and handed off to 25-year-old Cameron Scruggs, who took her to his house in Las Vegas, where she was found Wednesday, Aurora Police Department Commander Marc Paolino said in a news conference Thursday.

Williamson, from Kremmling, was arrested on charges of internet sexual exploitation of a child and internet luring of a child. He is in custody in the Grand County Jail.

Scruggs, from Las Vegas, was also arrested and is charged with kidnapping in Colorado and statutory sexual seduction by a person 21 or older in Nevada.

Additional charges are expected against both men.

Aurora police got the initial 911 call about a missing person, possibly a runaway, on June 16. Investigators discovered that Williamson had driven to the girl’s house that night and picked her up, taking her to a hotel in Lakewood, Paolino said. 

Scruggs then allegedly drove from Las Vegas to Colorado, where Williamson handed the teenager off to him, Paolino said.

An adult female accomplice was with Scruggs when he drove to Colorado, police said, but she has not been identified.

The teenager’s journal, which her parents turned over to police, helped them find the suspects.

Williamson told police about Scruggs, leading the investigation to Nevada on Tuesday, where Las Vegas police tracked down Scruggs and the victim Wednesday at Scruggs’s house. 

“I’d like to commend the dedicated work of our investigators and thank all of our law enforcement partners who assisted us in this investigation,” Paolino said. “But we can’t lose sight of the fact that this was a frightening and traumatic event for the victim and for everybody quite frankly who knows her.”

Paolino urged parents to monitor their children’s online activity, saying internet safety can be “life or death.”

“Parents really need to be involved in all levels of their kids lives, including in knowing what they’re doing online and with their electronic devices,” Paolino said. 

He recommended a three-prong approach to parents regarding internet safety, which includes having conversations with minors about being safe online, monitoring who their children talk to online and confronting them when they find something concerning. 

“By taking precautionary measures, we can never guarantee anything, but we can try,” he said. 

The investigation is ongoing, but Paolino said social media platforms Discord and Reddit were used. 

He added that the incident could be part of a larger human trafficking situation, but investigators are not sure of that yet. 

The girl is with victims’ advocates in Las Vegas being taken care of, Paolino said.