Missing Girls Found During Fairfax County Gang Investigation

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Fairfax County Police have found three runaway teenage girls after an investigation into suspected MS-13 gang activity.

The Washington Post reported that police were investigating 19-year-old Manuel Lopez Aguilar on March 11 after his ex-girlfriend reported that he was threatening her, according to a search warrant filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

The ex-girlfriend showed police photos, including Lopez Aguilar pointing a gun while making MS-13 hand signs and photos of two suspected runaway girls. Police said Lopez Aguilar was arrested and charged with making death threats on March 11.

The first girl, 17, was found in Falls Church on March 10. The second, 16, when Lopez Aguilar was arrested in Falls Church on March 11. A third girl, 14, was found the next day in Maryland. The three girls have returned home.

Police are looking into whether the girls were part of a trafficking or prostitution ring.

On the runaway girls incident, Officer Tawny Wright told WTOP, “We’ve had a number of gang related cases recently. We don’t believe that this suspect or these incidents are connected to any of those."

The recovery of the runaway girls comes as Fairfax County grapples with a string of supposed gang-related crimes in the area. According to police, gang activity of the Central American MS-13 has climbed 70 percent in the county from 2015 to 2016. Police are investigating whether two bodies found in Franconia's Holmes Run Park in early March are related to the MS-13 gang.

According to The Post, Fairfax police are also investigating two more potentially gang-related disappearances. Edvin Escobar Mendez, 17, of Falls Church and Sergio Arita Triminio, 14, of Alexandria have been missing since last fall and are believed to be in danger.

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