MANSFIELD, Texas — An AMBER alert sparked near the Mexican border in Brownsville, Texas led to the arrest of an 18-year-old man in Mansfield accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old. Mansfield police released body camera video of the arrest, and they talked to us about how it all went down.
The bodycam video shows the dramatic moments when police found the girl and arrested Clayton Philips, the suspect of the AMBER alert.
“We’re going off of that this guy is dangerous,” said Mansfield Police Department Sgt. Brian Raines.
Police said Philips is accused of kidnapping the girl in Brownsville- 500 miles from Mansfield.
In the bodycam video, the girl is in the passenger seat of the car.
“Looked like he was sleeping in the driver seat, and the child in the front passenger seat,” Raines said.
Phillips is being held at the Tarrant County jail.
Raines is one of the arresting officers. He, along with the other three officers, knew that time was not on their side in this situation.
“This was not the case, we need a hasty plan, let’s do it quick and safe. It’s a kidnapping situation, we’re taking it as he’s a very violent, possibly dangerous person,” Raines said.
It was the Brownsville Police Department that ended up getting a tip that the suspects’ car was in Mansfield.
“Not a normal area for a vehicle to be at that time of night, had the parking lights on and caught my attention,” Raines said.
Police said the 13-year-old girl and Philips met online, and Philips then drove to the Dallas-Fort Worth area where he may have family nearby.
In the end, the girl's mother cried tears of joy knowing her daughter is alive.
“The whole shift came alive to sit there and find the child. It was a good feeling when it all came together,” Raines said.
Police want to remind the public to look at your phone when you see an AMBER alert. In this case, the alert started well over 500 miles away, and it was all tips that came into the police department that led to the arrest.