Man accused of kidnapping juvenile from Amelia

St. Mary investigators have arrested a man accused of kidnapping a juvenile from an Amelia home.

Kevin Renan Vargas Aguilera, 20, was arrested at 12:24 p.m. Friday on two warrants alleging simple kidnapping, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and indecent behavior with a juvenile, Sheriff Gary Driskell reported Monday.

On Nov. 17, a detective was dispatched to a residence in Amelia for a possible kidnapping. The detective learned that upon returning home, the complainant had discovered a male subject in the complainant’s home with the complainant’s juvenile daughter.

After a confrontation, the male left the residence and took the juvenile with him. Through the investigation, the detective established male subject was Vargas-Aguilera.

Information was provided to the Louisiana State Police, who released a Level II Endangered/Missing Child Advisory.

The SMPSO continued to investigate the incident and attempted to locate Vargas-Aguilera. Subsequently, he was located Nov. 18 in Texas. The juvenile was found safe, and Vargas-Aguilera was arrested and extradited to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking.

Bail was set at $44,000.

Driskell and the Investigations Division of the SMPSO thanked the Louisiana State Police, the Berwick Police Department, Homeland Security investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lufkin Police Department for their assistance.