Allentown Police find out minor has fled to Mexico with middle-aged man

And the plan that led up to this elaborate scheme

ALLENTOWN, PA – A high schooler was supposed to be in school this Monday. However, Allentown police would report her missing by the end of the day. Her location? Cancun with 45-year-old Kevin Jones.

Amy Smith, a 16-year-old student from Berks County, ran away with her boyfriend to Mexico, said Allentown Police Captain Bill Lake at a news conference.

Surveillance video shows Smith arriving at her bus stop on Monday, according to the police affidavit. Yet instead of boarding the bus, she entered a vehicle registered under Jones’s name.

From there, it’s an ongoing investigation behind how Smith was able to leave the country with an older man. The two boarded the airplane to Cancun from Philadelphia International Airport, showed surveillance footage.

With little information on her whereabouts, Allentown authorities are in desperate search of her location. Allentown police want people to come forward with any information about the two to help get Smith back. An amber alert has also been made and Allentown police are working closely with Mexican authorities. Police are saying Jones is being charged with felony interference of the custody of a minor, and he is a danger to himself and others.

“We are aware they knew each other for some time,”

In hindsight, it’s eerie how many warning signs there were leading up to the escape. “We are aware they knew each other for some time,” said Capt. Lake.

Weeks leading up to the departure, Jones signed Smith out of Sunny Valley Charter School in Berks County at least 14 times over the past three weeks, identifying himself as her “step-father”. A willing accomplice, Smith managed to provide fraudulent documentation. This was certainly a red flag as Smith’s father is deceased and she does not have a step-father.

The principal of Smith’s school was questioned over the security of the students. “We are making sure nothing like this happens again,” said the principal, an indication of the lack of regulations that were in place before.

As for the Allentown police, there are personal reasons for wanting to find Smith. “As a father myself, I’m worried,” says Lake.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

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