LONDON--A 12-year-old British girl flew home to her relievedparents Wednesday as the former U.S. Marine she ran off with wasarrested in Germany on charges of abduction.
Toby Studabaker, 31, and Shevaun Pennington, the schoolgirl he metin an Internet chat room, had evaded police since they left Britaintogether Saturday on a flight to Paris.
Shevaun's parents in northwest England made public appeals for hersafe return. Studabaker's family in Michigan said the ex-Marine hadthought the girl, with whom he had discussed marriage, was 18 or 19.
Police said the pair had separated by Wednesday afternoon, whenStudabaker was arrested for alleged abduction under an internationalwarrant in Frankfurt.
They said Studabaker had contacted the FBI at lunchtime, then wasarrested by Frankfurt police. Shevaun already was on her way home,flying back to Manchester in northern England via Amsterdam fromStuttgart.
German authorities said they are investigating whether Studabakercan be extradited to Britain. They are also investigate whether hecould be charged with child abuse in Germany, said ChristianBrockert, a spokesman for the Federal Criminal Office.
Shevaun was later reunited with her parents, Stephen and JoannaPennington, at a police station near her home in Lowton.
A British police official said American investigators hadevidence, taken from Studabaker's computer, that he knew that Shevaunwas 12. The sources also said that images of child pornography werediscovered on Studabaker's computer.
Studabaker, of Constantine, Mich., joined the Marines in 2000 andserved in an anti-terrorism unit in Afghanistan, said Sgt. SpencerHarris, a spokesman for the Camp Lejeune Marine base in NorthCarolina. He was discharged on June 30, Harris said.
AP
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