A Florida man is in custody and two girls ages 11 and 15 are safe after Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office deputies made a traffic stop that prevented a possible kidnapping.
According to a release from BCSO Capt. Todd Hutchins, the Sheriff’s Office received information Tuesday afternoon from the Georgia State Patrol regarding a possible kidnapping suspect traveling towards Bulloch County from the North Carolina area.
“After receiving the tag number associated with the suspect vehicle, deputies utilized the Flock Safety camera system to locate the vehicle,” Hutchins write in the release. “Road patrol deputies and investigators with the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office subsequently conducted a traffic stop on Highway 67 near Josh Deal Road.”
Hutchins said all occupants of the vehicle were safely detained while investigators contacted detectives with the Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office and the China Grove Police Department, both in North Carolina.
Investigators were advised that the two girls were reported kidnapped and that the driver, Seth Tallmadge, 21, was the suspect in the investigation. Tallmadge was arrested on a kidnapping warrant from the Yadkin County Sheriff’s office and will be scheduled for an extradition hearing for his return to North Carolina, Hutchins said.
Tallmadge, who listed a Trenton, Fla., address, was taken into custody and transported to the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office pending further proceedings. The 11- and 15-year-old were reunited with their parents.
“I would like to recognize the quick response and teamwork of the deputies and investigators involved in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion,” Sheriff Noel Brown said in the release. “This is the second time within a 24-hour period that Corporal Tanner White and his shift were involved in rescuing victims of a kidnapping incident.
“I also want to thank the Georgia State Patrol, Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office and China Grove Police Department for their assistance and coordination throughout the investigation.”