A 37-year-old Charlotte man was arrested after deputies said they found the 16-year-old girl in his car during a speeding stop near Crescent City.
CRESCENT CITY, FL — A missing 16-year-old North Carolina girl was found safe after a Florida deputy stopped a speeding car on March 8 and discovered she was riding with a 37-year-old Charlotte man, authorities said.
The case drew quick attention in two states because the girl had been missing since mid-February and was found hundreds of miles from home during what began as a routine traffic stop. Investigators said the driver, Joshua Magraff, was arrested on child custody and other charges after deputies found the teen, questioned conflicting stories about who she was, and searched the vehicle. The girl was turned over to child welfare officials while authorities worked to reunite her with her family.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the stop happened Sunday night on U.S. 17 near Crescent City in northeast Florida. A deputy pulled over a vehicle for speeding and began speaking with the driver and the teenage passenger. Investigators said Magraff, 37, first told the deputy the girl was his cousin. When the deputy asked the girl for her identity, authorities said she gave several false names and birth dates, including one that would have made her 12 years old. That raised concerns about her welfare, and the deputy moved her to a patrol car for more questioning. There, investigators said, she gave her real name. A records check showed she had been reported missing in North Carolina on Feb. 16. Body camera video later released by the sheriff’s office captured the deputy pressing Magraff about the changing story and asking why a man his age was traveling with a 16-year-old girl.
Authorities said the girl’s mother was contacted after deputies confirmed the identity of the passenger. Investigators said the mother told them she had reported her daughter missing and did not know Magraff. Deputies then questioned Magraff again, and the sheriff’s office said his account changed. After first calling the girl his cousin, investigators said he later described her as a friend and then said he believed she was 19. He also told deputies they were in Florida to play gambling games, according to the sheriff’s office. During a search of the vehicle, deputies said they found 19 counterfeit $100 bills, synthetic marijuana, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Magraff was arrested and booked into the Putnam County Jail. Authorities said the girl was placed in the care of Florida’s Department of Children and Families until she could be reunited with her family.
The stop happened in Putnam County, a largely rural area southwest of St. Augustine, but the case quickly spread across North Carolina and Florida because of the distance involved and the age gap between the driver and the teen. News outlets in the Charlotte area identified the girl as being from the region around Charlotte or Gastonia, where relatives and local media had been following her disappearance for weeks. The sheriff’s office has not publicly laid out when or how the teen and Magraff met, how long they had been traveling together, or whether investigators believe anyone else helped move or hide her. Those unanswered questions have become central to the next phase of the case. Authorities also have not publicly described the girl’s condition in detail beyond saying she was found safe. Because she is a minor, officials have withheld identifying information that would be common in other criminal cases.
Magraff was jailed on charges that authorities said include interference with child custody, possession of synthetic marijuana, possession of counterfeit currency, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of drug paraphernalia. As of the latest public reports, investigators had not announced additional charges tied directly to the girl’s disappearance, and court records available through news reports did not show an attorney speaking publicly on his behalf. Authorities said he was being held on a $9,000 bond. The sheriff’s office has described the investigation as ongoing, which leaves open the possibility of more charges or referrals as detectives review travel history, electronic evidence and the circumstances that led the teen to leave North Carolina. Investigators in both states are also expected to continue interviewing witnesses and coordinating on any missing-person paperwork, custody issues and evidence recovered from the vehicle.
The body camera video gave the case an unusually vivid public record. It showed a roadside encounter that began with a speeding stop and shifted, step by step, into a missing-child recovery. The deputy’s questions grew sharper as the stories changed, and the scene turned from a routine enforcement stop into a criminal investigation. For the girl’s family, the most important fact was that she was found alive after nearly a month away. For investigators, the traffic stop created a timeline, a witness account and physical evidence all at once. The sheriff’s office said only that the teen was safe and that child welfare workers took temporary custody. Even with that outcome, many details remain unsettled, including how the relationship began, whether the teen crossed state lines willingly, and what investigators may still learn from the phones, the car and the items recovered during the search.
For now, the case stands at the point where a missing-person investigation has turned into a criminal one. The girl has been located, Magraff has been arrested, and detectives say more work remains as they sort through evidence and determine whether any further charges will be filed in Florida or North Carolina.
Author note: Last updated March 14, 2026.