Siblings rescued after alleged kidnapping by 19-year-old they met on Roblox
Previously missing siblings, both girls and minors, have been located after allegedly being kidnapped by a man whom they met on Roblox and continued to speak with on Snapchat, according to a press conference from a Florida sheriff's department on Monday.
The siblings, ages 12 and 15, were located by the Georgia State Highway Patrol after authorities found and stopped a vehicle connected to a suspect in the case, according to an update to a Facebook post from Martin County, Florida, Sheriff's Office just after midnight early Sunday morning.
The siblings appear to be physically unharmed, officials said.
Hser Mu Lah Say, a 19-year-old American citizen from Omaha, Nebraska, has been charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of interference with child custody in Martin County, and is currently jailed in Georgia, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said in a press conference on Monday.
"We talk regularly about the importance of parents and family members being vigilant about grooming and social media platforms and the impact it has on kids," said Budensiek, "and in this case, I think we prevented something disastrous," adding that he did not know what the suspect planned to do.
At the press conference, Budensiek described the rescue of the children, as well as the events leading up to the alleged abduction.
Budensiek said the girls had gone missing early Saturday evening, and earlier in the day, the siblings had their cellular devices removed as punishment for attending a local park, before leaving home again to meet the suspect.
Deputies said family members alerted them to "a potential suspect" who had been identified by the family in summer 2025 through Snapchat.
"The family members suggested to our deputies that an individual on that app, may be involved in these girls disappearing," said Budensiek.
When looking through the girls' device, deputies found "a constant thread of communication between this individual and these two young girls to include the suspect... driving to Indiantown, Florida, to pick these girls up and leave," Budensiek said.
Budensiek added that deputies at that point were dealing with "a type of abduction," noting "these girls went willingly, but their age suggested that they had been taken and were probably being removed from our area."
The sheriff said they believe the communication between the girls and the suspect started in the summer of 2025 on the gaming application Roblox, before moving to Snapchat.
"The family told us that they saw some weird things that were going on involving gifts, specifically food for the most part, showing up to the house," said Budensiek, adding it amounted to what authorities believe was "a grooming process that the suspect was doing with these young girls."
The sheriff said the suspect allegedly left Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday morning and arrived in Indiantown on Saturday morning.
The original Facebook post detailing the missing siblings said that authorities were "urgently searching" for two missing sisters from Indiantown, Florida.
Budensiek said authorities were able to track a suspect vehicle and route of travel for the suspect back to Nebraska, before the Georgia State Police located and pulled him over.
In the initial post, the sheriff's office shared that investigators believed that the girls, who were last seen around 5 p.m. on Saturday, "may be in the custody of an unknown adult Asian male." A photo of the male was attached to the post, as well as a photo of the siblings.
"Detectives believe the girls may have met this individual online. An AMBER Alert is in the process of being issued as detectives work urgently to locate them," the post continued.
At the press conference, Budensiek reiterated concerns over online communication platforms. "There is no application online that's safe," he said. "If you can communicate with somebody away from your house in the quiet of your own room, it can be a problem. So parents have to be vigilant."
Budensiek added of the suspect, "He was passive. But he didn't provide any statements."
It was not immediately clear if the suspect had retained an attorney.
Roblox's chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman, said in a statement to ABC News on Monday, "We are investigating this deeply troubling incident and will fully support law enforcement. Roblox has robust safety policies to protect users that go beyond many other platforms, and advanced safeguards that monitor for harmful content and communications."
The statement continued, "We have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information, don’t allow user-to-user image or video sharing, and recently rolled out age checks globally to limit kids and teens to chatting with others their age by default. While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to strengthen protections to keep users safe.”
In a statement to ABC News on Tuesday, a Snap company spokesperson said, "Our hearts go out to the teens and their families affected by this tragic incident, and we are grateful to the law enforcement professionals who worked tirelessly in the rescue efforts. The exploitation of children is an abhorrent crime, and we are committed to combating it."
The company reiterated its cooperation, stating that it works closely with law enforcement "to support their investigations, including during this incident, and to prevent such heinous activity on our platform and help bring criminals to justice."
"While no single safety feature or policy can eliminate every potential threat online or in the world around us, we continuously adapt our strategies as criminals evolve their tactics," the spokesperson said. "We've built safeguards, launched safety tutorials, partnered with experts, and continue to invest in features and tools that support the safety, privacy, and well-being of all Snapchatters."
Snapchat users must be at least 13 years old to create an account. According to the company's website, younger Snapchat users -- those between the ages of 13 and 15 -- "do not have access to Public Profiles," which the website defines as "an introductory experience that allows them to share content more widely on Snapchat, if they choose, with thoughtful protections in place."
Editor's note: This article was updated to include a statement from a Snap company spokesperson.
