Gary Simpson, 58, was arrested on charges of abducting Carlie Trent, his 9-year-old niece. He is facing 15 to 25 years in prison if he is convicted of the kidnapping. Simpson is accused of taking Carlie from her school on May 4 by saying her father had been in an accident. Searchers found the pair on May 12, near Clinch Mountain, Tennessee concluding an eight-day, intensive manhunt that resulted in an Amber Alert that extended to Missouri and more than 1,500 leads in 19 states. Hawkins County residents Stewart Franklin and Donnie Lawson located the two while checking property in a remote area off Gravely Valley Road near the Hawkins and Hancock county line. Franklin reportedly held Simpson at gunpoint while Lawson called 911 and rescued Carlie, who was playing with a teddy bear. Simpson is being held on $1 million bond, and he has been placed on a suicide watch. |