VA man charged with kidnapping, trafficking after alleged victims escape hotel room

VA man charged with kidnapping, trafficking after alleged victims escape hotel room

Stafford County deputies arrested a man accused of kidnapping and trafficking two children, after the children were able to escape a hotel where they were being held.

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. - Stafford County deputies arrested a man accused of kidnapping and trafficking two children, after the children were able to escape a hotel where they were being held. 

What we know:

Tyronne McDaniel of Woodbridge has been charged with abduction, possession of a controlled substance and pandering, a type of human trafficking, officials announced Thursday.  

Deputies were called out to a commuter parking lot in Stafford on Wednesday, by an off-duty law enforcement officer, according to Sheriff David Decatur.

The officer told deputies that two children flagged him down, claiming they had been kidnapped. When deputies got there, they confirmed the children's identities, and found that one of them had been reported missing.

The children led deputies to a nearby Quality Inn, and right to the room where they were being held. That's where deputies found McDaniel.

According to investigators, McDaniel met the children in Baltimore, then brought them to the hotel. Inside the hotel room, investigators said they also found drugs and "items related to prostitution."

What's next:

McDaniel is being held without bond. The two children have been turned over to Child Protective Services to be reunited with their families.