Isabel Gallego, who disappeared from Sacramento earlier this year at the age of 17, was found after police in Portland, Oregon, took into custody the man she was allegedly with.
The Sacramento Police Department made the announcement shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday night and provided few details about Gallego’s condition or how she was found. Police said in a social media post, in part, that she had been “safely located and plans are being made to reunite her with her family.”
Gallego, now 18, was reported missing in April, with police saying she was likely with Kyree Jackson, 25.
The Portland Police Department “located Kyree and arrested him on his warrant,” Sacramento police said in a statement.
Multnomah County jail records show Jackson was booked just after 9 p.m. Oregon jail records did not list charges, and authorities did not specify what charges Jackson might face. Police also did not say how his arrest was connected to Gallego’s disappearance. Two arrest warrants issued in Sacramento County indicate Jackson was wanted on felony charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and theft of a motor vehicle.
Gallego, who was then a senior in an independent study program, was last seen by her parents on the night of April 19. Her mother, Julie Gallego, said the teen had left her phone in her room and had only a backpack with her.
In an interview with the Sacramento Bee, Julie Gallego described Isabel as a “very creative” person who frequently changed her hair color; she reportedly had green hair at the time of her disappearance. Isabel was also active in Sacramento’s punk rock scene, her mother said.
“It just wasn’t in his plan,” Julie Gallego told the Bee.
Sacramento Superior Court records indicate that Jackson skipped pretrial proceedings in his criminal case and tampered with his court-issued ankle monitoring device, rendering it disabled.
Julie Gallego said her daughter met Jackson about two weeks before she disappeared and that the teen’s friends knew Jackson as “a pimp.” The mother also said her daughter was very trusting of people, which she said “probably was her downfall.”
After leaving Sacramento, Isabel Gallego was allegedly followed to Portland before being spotted in Seattle, police said. She was considered at risk because of her age, and Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Anthony Gamble said investigators believe she was a victim of human trafficking.
