HIALEAH, Fla. – A 17-year-old girl who disappeared at the same time as a convicted sex offender has been found safe and the man dead, FOX News has confirmed.
Police in Hialeah, Fla., said that Robert Laird was discovered dead with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound after leaving his home with a handgun and leaving behind a suicide note.
Authorities said they found the girl and her alleged abductor, Robert Laird, 39, of Miami, in Pompano Beach.
An Amber Alert had been issued earlier Thursday for the teenager, who disappeared Wednesday and was last seen in Hialeah. The man believed to have kidnapped her was previously convicted of lewd or lascivious battery on a victim 12 to 15 years old, police said.
No other details on the girl's disappearance were released.
Miami-Dade County police issued a missing person's alert for Laird late Wednesday, saying he left his home with a handgun. He also left behind a note saying he planned to commit suicide, police spokesman Detective Robert Williams said. He had no other details.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.