The father of a teenage girl who deputies say was kidnapped on Christmas Day found her using his phone’s parental controls, according to authorities in Texas.

A 15-year-old girl was reported kidnapped from the Houston suburb of Porter on Thursday after her parents said she took her dog out for a walk but did not return, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Authorities said the girl’s father tracked her phone using parental controls, which led him to a secluded, partially wooded area in Harris County, roughly two miles from Porter.

Her father located her and her dog inside a maroon-colored pickup truck with a partially nude 23-year-old man, the sheriff’s office said. The father helped his daughter escape from the truck and contacted law enforcement, the sheriff’s office added.

Authorities did not name the father or his teenage daughter.

The man, Giovanni Rosales Espinoza, was taken into custody without incident and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child, the sheriff’s office said, alleging he threatened the girl with a knife and abducted her off the street. He remains in the Montgomery County Jail at this time with no bond, according to authorities.

It was not immediately clear if Espinoza has legal representation.

“Christmas is a day meant for joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child,” Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was swiftly apprehended and is now off our streets.”

“Rest assured that your Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant every hour of every day to keep your families safe,” he added.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

A Porter man is accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old girl who was walking her dog on Christmas Day.

A father in Texas saved his 15-year-old daughter after he traced her phone to find the location where she was being held and kidnapped, deputies said.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said it responded to a home in Porter, outside of Houston, around 4:50 p.m. on Christmas Day in reference to the reported kidnapping of the juvenile.

"Upon arrival, deputies learned that the victim had taken her dog out for a walk and when she did not return at her usual time, her parents became concerned. Using parental controls to locate the victim’s phone, her father traveled to a secluded, partially wooded area in Harris County nearly 2 miles away," the Sheriff’s Office said.

"The father located the victim and her dog inside a maroon-colored pickup truck with a partially nude 23-year-old male. The father helped his daughter escape from the truck and contacted law enforcement."

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Deputies said an investigation revealed the suspect, Giovanni Rosales Espinoza of Porter "had threatened the victim with a knife and abducted her from the street."

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Using descriptions provided by witnesses, the Sheriff’s Office said its deputies tracked down Espinoza and took him into custody without incident.

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He was charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child and remains held without bond.

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"Christmas is a day meant for joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child. I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was swiftly apprehended and is now off our streets," Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said.

"Rest assured that your Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant every hour of every day to keep your families safe."

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Deputies said the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

Original article source: Texas father rescues kidnapped daughter by tracing her phone's location, sheriff's office says

The Brief

• Giovanni Rosales Espinoza, 23, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and