Police say a tip led officers and U.S. Marshals to a Silver Spring address, where a 37-year-old man was arrested on a Kentucky kidnapping warrant.
SILVER SPRING, MD — A 13-year-old girl missing from Kentucky since mid-October was found alive Friday inside a Silver Spring home after a tip to authorities, and a Maryland man was taken into custody on a kidnapping charge, police said.
Montgomery County police identified the girl as Wynter Wagoner of Rockcastle County, Ky., and the man as Christian Alexander Delgado, 37. The case has moved quickly in recent days: officers were sent to the home late Friday afternoon, the girl was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and Delgado appeared before a judge Monday. Investigators say Delgado is being held while he awaits extradition to Kentucky, where the warrant was issued. The recovery ends a two-month search that spread across states and drew public attention from Kentucky to the Washington region.
Officers and deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service went to the 12000 block of Dalewood Drive at about 5:52 p.m. Friday after a caller reported the missing girl might be there, according to police. Inside the residence, officers found Wagoner and arrested Delgado without incident. “They called our communications center and asked us to check the welfare of this individual,” Montgomery County police official Darren Francke said over the weekend. Police said Wagoner was transported to an area hospital for evaluation as officials coordinated with family. Authorities did not release her condition and did not describe the interior of the home beyond confirming where she was found. Rockcastle County authorities in Kentucky had previously obtained an arrest warrant charging Delgado with kidnapping, police said.
In court Monday, Delgado addressed a district judge and called the situation “a misunderstanding,” saying he considered himself “a model citizen,” according to statements made in open court. He asked to be released so he could travel to Kentucky on his own, but the judge denied the request, citing the seriousness of the allegations. Records show Delgado waived his right to an extradition hearing and is being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit pending transfer. Police have not detailed how Delgado and Wagoner first made contact or how she traveled from Kentucky to Maryland. Officials added that the initial tip came from someone who felt something was wrong upon seeing the pair together.
Wagoner was last seen Oct. 14 in the Orlando community of Rockcastle County, a rural county along Interstate 75 south of Lexington. Family members and volunteers papered the area with flyers and posted updates as weeks passed with few answers. Her father thanked supporters in a brief statement released through a Kentucky television station, saying only that she had been found and was safe. Kentucky media reported the family had offered a $5,000 reward during the search. Authorities in Rockcastle County have not publicly discussed investigative details from October to December, including whether electronic records, interviews or surveillance images helped trace the teen’s movements before she surfaced in Maryland.
The Montgomery County Department of Police said the Friday search was coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Service and local officers assigned to the county’s 4th District. The Silver Spring neighborhood where the home sits is several miles north of downtown, lined with single-family houses and townhomes. Police did not report any injuries during the arrest. They said the girl’s recovery came just before 6 p.m., within minutes of the initial dispatch, after which she was taken for a precautionary medical evaluation. Officials did not release information about potential additional suspects and did not describe what, if anything, was seized from the home. Questions about Wagoner’s exact path to Maryland, and whether anyone else may have assisted, remain unanswered.
In Maryland, authorities typically hold a person on an out-of-state warrant until the other jurisdiction completes required paperwork. In this case, Kentucky officials requested that Delgado be extradited to face the kidnapping charge connected to Wagoner’s disappearance. Police said Delgado has been living in Montgomery County since 2023 and recently took a job as a car salesman, according to statements referenced in court. The judge overseeing Monday’s hearing, identified in court as John Moffett, ordered Delgado held as the transfer process begins. No court date in Kentucky has been announced. Investigators said coordination continues between Montgomery County police, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office.
The arrest has also prompted conflicting narratives from people close to the case. Some of Delgado’s relatives told local media that the teen claimed to be older and was staying willingly, assertions authorities have not confirmed. Police emphasized that the girl is 13 and that a Kentucky judge approved a kidnapping warrant before the arrest. Advocates for missing children note that cases involving cross-state travel often involve online contact or grooming, but investigators in this case have not described any digital communications or released messages. Neighbors in Silver Spring said they were surprised to see police and federal agents converge on the quiet block late Friday; one resident said they learned of the case from news alerts over the weekend.
For families in Rockcastle County and Montgomery County, the recovery ends a period of uncertainty that stretched more than two months. The case now turns to Kentucky, where prosecutors will decide on any additional counts and where a court will set the first appearance after extradition. Police in Maryland said they will provide updates through official releases as coordination with Kentucky continues. As of Monday evening, Delgado remained in custody in Montgomery County awaiting transport, and authorities declined to comment further on investigative steps still underway.
Author note: Last updated December 29, 2025.