2 Young Girls Abducted After Being Groomed By Man They Chatted with on Roblox, Police Say

Two young sisters in Florida were found safe after authorities say they were taken by a man they had been communicating with on Roblox and Snapchat.

At a press conference on Monday, Feb. 2, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office identified Hser Mu Lah Say, 19, of Omaha, Nebraska, as the suspect. Investigators allege he drove nearly 24 hours to Indiantown, Florida, to pick up the girls.

The sisters, ages 12 and 14, were initially reported missing on Saturday, Jan. 31. According to the sheriff’s office, the Georgia Highway Patrol later located the two girls and the suspect inside his vehicle just hours after the report, as the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Jan. 31.

“This was a sobering case for us here at the county sheriff’s office, but we’re thankful with how it ended,” Sheriff John Budensiek said at Monday’s briefing.

Budensiek said deputies were alerted around 8 p.m. on Jan. 31 that the girls had been reported missing “a few hours earlier.” Investigators then learned that earlier the same day—around 9 a.m.—the girls had gone to a local park in Indiantown, were found by a family member, taken home, and punished, he said. Part of that punishment, he added, involved their cell phones being confiscated.

Budensiek said relatives told deputies there was already “a potential suspect” who had been communicating with the girls on Snapchat since mid-2025—and family members believed that person could be connected to the disappearance.

When investigators examined the phones, Budensiek said Snapchat had been deleted. After re-downloading the app, he said deputies allegedly found “a constant thread of communication” between the suspect and the girls. Based on those messages, Budensiek said, investigators believed they were dealing with an abduction.

“I know these girls went willingly, but their age suggested that they had been taken and were probably being removed from our area,” he said.

Authorities searched local parks, hotels, and other areas around Indiantown as they worked to locate the girls. Budensiek said the conditions that night were “freezing,” and investigators were “in full crisis mode” during the search.

He alleged that the initial communication began in summer 2025 on Roblox, before moving to Snapchat. Budensiek also said the family had noticed “weird” activity—such as food “showing up to the house”—which investigators believe could indicate the girls were being groomed.

Police allege Lah Say left Omaha on Friday, Jan. 30, and arrived in Indiantown around 10 a.m. Saturday after driving “22, 23 hours straight.” Investigators believe the girls had planned to meet him at the park that morning, but were taken home and had their phones confiscated, Budensiek said. He added that deputies believe the suspect waited for another chance to meet the girls, and that the girls may have used a family tablet to restart contact after their phones were taken.

Lah Say was charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of interference with child custody. As of Monday, he was being held in a Georgia jail while detectives worked to obtain extradition paperwork to bring him back to Florida.

Budensiek said investigators do not yet know what the suspect’s plans were, but he believes law enforcement “prevented something disastrous” from happening to the “impressionable” girls.

Investigators said they did not find anything “sexually explicit” in the messages so far, Budensiek noted, though he said there were romantic exchanges. He added that authorities were still reviewing the devices.

When asked whether the girls had spoken with investigators, Budensiek said interviews were in progress after family members traveled about five to six hours to retrieve them.

Police also said Lah Say had no prior criminal history.

Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman addressed the incident in a statement, saying the company was investigating and would support law enforcement. Kaufman said Roblox has safety policies and safeguards designed to monitor harmful content and communications, including filters meant to block personal information sharing, restrictions on user-to-user image or video sharing, and age checks intended to limit kids and teens to chatting with others their age by default.

A Snapchat spokesperson also issued a statement expressing sympathy for the girls and their families, thanking law enforcement, and saying the company works with authorities to support investigations and combat child exploitation. The spokesperson added that Snapchat continues to invest in safeguards, safety tutorials, partnerships with experts, and tools focused on safety, privacy, and well-being.