MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Investigators in Martin County said a 19-year-old man from Nebraska faces multiple charges after two missing sisters from Indiantown were safely recovered in Georgia this past weekend.
The girls, Lunabella Lozano, 12, and Kaelani Star Lozano, 15, disappeared over the weekend but were found safe early Sunday morning after an urgent multi-state search, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Office.
WATCH BELOW: Sheriff discusses arrest of Nebraska man after girls found in Georgia
During a Monday afternoon news conference, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek laid out the timeline of the case, which resulted in the arrest of Hser Mu Lah Say, 19, of Omaha, Nebraska.
Budensiek said the investigation began at about 8 p.m. Saturday, when deputies in Indiantown learned the children vanished a few hours earlier in the day.
"The family members were crucial to this investigation and helped us a lot," Budensiek said.
Family members helped them quickly identify Lah Say as a suspect in the case, saying the children had been communicating with him since last year.
Budensiek said Lah Say and the children had been communicating on a gaming app called Roblox since last summer, which later transitioned to communication on Snapchat.
"Deputies got hold of the digital device that these girls were using to communicate with that individual, saw that the Snapchat app was deleted from the device, had the thought process to reload the device, and when they did, they could see a constant thread of communication between this individual and these two young girls," Budensiek said.
The sheriff said that communication included Lah Say discussing driving from Nebraska to Indiantown to pick up the girls and then leaving the county.
The Georgia Highway Patrol later located and stopped a vehicle believed to be carrying the girls at 12:16 a.m. Sunday.
The Martin County sheriff said the girls were found inside the vehicle and recovered safely.
Lah Say is currently being held at the Lowndes County, Georgia, and is facing two counts of kidnapping and two counts of interference of child custody.
Budensiek said Lah Say could face more charges.
The sheriff said that the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Florida Highway Patrol and Georgia State Patrol all helped in safely recovering the girls.
Stay with WPTV.com and News Channel 5 for updates.
