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San Antonio teen missing for nearly 2 weeks was taken at gunpoint, threatened, father says

Andres Hernandez, 28, is facing a kidnapping charge in connection with the 16-year-old's disappearance.

SAN ANTONIO — A 28-year-old man is facing a kidnapping charge after a San Antonio teen who disappeared nearly two weeks ago was located safely nearly 2,000 miles away from home Tuesday morning.

Andres Hernandez was arrested in Moses Lake, Washington, early Tuesday morning. He was found with a 16-year-old girl who was reported missing May 25.

KENS 5 is not naming the teen because she is believed to be the victim of a crime.

The teen's father, Manny Martinez, said he got a call from the San Antonio Police Department's special victims unit early Tuesday morning telling him U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security Investigations and other law enforcement from the Washington area had located Hernandez and were set to arrest him within the hour.

When authorities in Moses Lake made the arrest, he said he was contacted and was able to briefly speak with his daughter. He said hearing her voice for the first time in weeks brought him and his wife to tears.

"After that point, it became chaos, trying to find a way to get her home," Martinez said. "There was one flight available from San Antonio to Washington -- to Spokane -- and roughly about 90 minutes to get ready to pack and get out there and, you know, go through the loopholes at the airport to get through." 

Martinez said he and his wife had decided they would not ask their daughter about her disappearance, but when they arrived in Washington late Tuesday night, she explained what had happened.

"A lot of it is things a parent would never want to hear happened to their daughter," Martinez said.

Surveillance video obtained by Eyewitness Wants to Know when Martinez's daughter first disappeared showed her walking out of a Domino's off of Bandera Road, where she worked with Hernandez, and stepping out of the frame of security footage. San Antonio police initially said it appeared to them the teen got into the car willingly, but Martinez said his daughter told them Hernandez had a gun pointed at her and told her to get in the car quickly.

"She got scared. She got in, but he had her at gun point," Martinez said his daughter told him. Martinez was critical of authorities for not issuing an Amber Alert for his daughter after she first disappeared. Police said it was because they thought she had gone willingly and that her case did not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert.

Late night restroom tryst, unstolen Snapple, leads to seizure of nea... rly two pounds of illegal drugs Saturday morning, shortly after 1 am, officers received a call of suspicious activity at a Kittleson Road gas station. Apparently, a male and a female had gone into the restroom together, and spent an inordinate amount of time inside, blocking it from other customers.

According to Martinez, his daughter explained Hernandez had repeatedly threatened her and the safety of her family over the course of the two weeks she was missing.

Moses Lake police said Hernandez had a pistol in his possession at the time of his arrest. Hernandez is expected to face charges in Washington, though it's unclear what charges.

Police in Moses Lake told KENS 5 Wednesday afternoon the pair had been staying at motels and that they had gotten an apartment in the area. Authorities there said they located Hernandez's car and arrested him and found the teen at the apartment.

Hernandez is set to go before a judge for an extradition hearing Wednesday, authorities in Washington told KENS 5.

Martinez said he didn't have the words to show his appreciation for the outpouring of support to find his daughter. He said the experience has given him empathy for those who have gone through similar things or are currently going through similar hardships. He said he advises parents to have passwords to their child's social media accounts, debit and credit card accounts and cell phone records.

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