A Teen Girl Used An Alligator Warning Sign And A Location-Sharing Application To Help Police Find Her After Being Kidnapped And Raped

A teen girl freed herself from a rapist by using a location-sharing application and an alligator sign.

Authorities in Coweta County, Georgia, have arrested a West Virginia man who raped a 17-year-old girl after he picked her after meeting her online. The incident happened last week when Dalton Ramsey offered to drive the girl to see her boyfriend in Pennsylvania. After picking her up, he took her to the B.T. Brown Reservoir Park, detained her and sexually assaulted her at knifepoint, Fox News reports.

At some point, Ramsey allowed the girl to use her phone, which she used to reach out to authorities. She shared her location with her boyfriend, who saw in a Google search an online image of an alligator warning sign. The girl confirmed that she saw the sign outside the closed park. Afterward, she used the app Noonlight to track her GPS location for authorities to see. She also provided the app with the make of the rapist’s car and wrote “rape” in the app.

Fox News reports that surveillance footage picked up Ramsey’s car outside of the park. He was later arrested on September 6 in Habersham County. He’s been charged with kidnapping charges, rape, aggravated assault with a weapon and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime.