Published: September 28, 2009 01:37 pm      

Ky. teen knew man accused in abduction

OWENSBORO — A Kentucky teen's family knew the convicted sex offender charged with abducting her and taking her to Wisconsin over the weekend, a sheriff's official said.

The 13-year-old Owensboro girl disappeared early Saturday, triggering a nationwide Amber Alert. Police said they caught up with her and 43-year-old Archie Whalen as Whalen was pulling into a hotel parking lot in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., early Sunday.

"She befriended him," said Sturgeon Bay Police Capt. Arleigh Porter. "He is a friend of the family and saw an opportunity. I would say his motive would be sexual in nature. He has a very lengthy criminal history."

Whalen faces only a kidnapping charge in Kentucky, and Porter said the teen was examined at a hospital and there was no indication she had been sexually assaulted. The Associated Press does not name sexual assault victims and is not naming the victim in this case because police are still investigating what happened to her.

"She is doing fine. She is in protective shelter care," Porter said. Her mother was arranging Monday to be reunited with her in Sturgeon Bay. Whalen was due to have a first court appearance in Wisconsin on Monday and did not yet have an attorney.

Daviess County, Ky., Sheriff's Capt. Bill Thompson told the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer that the teen and her family had recently moved to Kentucky from Maine, where they knew Whalen.

The teen's family reported her missing Saturday morning. Thompson said an employee at a McDonald's in Hardinsburg, Ky., about 600 miles from Sturgeon Bay, saw the Amber Alert and recalled seeing people who matched the description there at 4 a.m. Saturday.

"It was the license plate on the vehicle from the state of Maine that made her remember," Thompson said.

The girl's family watched security video from the restaurant and identified their daughter and Whalen, Thompson said.

Thompson said investigators knew Whalen had family in Wisconsin and notified law enforcement agencies there about the teen's disappearance. Early Sunday morning, a police officer in Sturgeon Bay spotted Whalen's Ford Explorer and arrested him without incident.

Daviess County Chief Deputy Jeff Jones said Whalen has a criminal history, including convictions for rape, burglary and second-degree assault in New York.