NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday afternoon that Carlie Trent has been sound safe and Gary Simpson is in custody, according to WKRN News 2.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) confirmed the information.
It's confirmed! Carlie Trent is safe! Gary Simpson is in custody.
— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) May 12, 2016
Gary Simpson was added to the state’s Top Ten Most Wanted list earlier today.
Simpson was wanted by the Rogersville Police Department and the TBI for Especially Aggravated Kidnapping.
On May 4, Simpson kidnapped 9-year-old Carlie Marie Trent from school. Simpson has no custodial rights to Carlie.
WKRN News 2 reports that two citizens are credited for finding the 9-year-old in a rural part of Hawkins County, Tennessee, eight days after she was kidnapped by her uncle.
TBI Director Mark Gwyn said two men, Donnie Lawson and Stewart Franklin, discovered the girl and her uncle while searching a large area of property in the Clinch Valley area.
Franklin was riding an ATV when he found Carlie walking around carrying a teddy bear on property belonging to Lawson’s brother, property the TBI described as “only accessible by four-wheel drive.”
Franklin held Simpson at gunpoint soon after while Lawson called 911.
Two other men, Roger Carpenter and Larry “Hambone” Hamblen, were also searching the property at the time of the discovery.
News 2 spoke with Carpenter by phone. He said he and his three friends who spent all that time searching are “just overjoyed” with the outcome.
While it is unknown how long the girl and her uncle were on the property, authorities said they located the van Simpson was last seen driving near their makeshift campsite.
Carlie was transported to a local hospital where she will be checked out, though authorities said she “appeared to be ok.”
The TBI vows that their work is not done because Carlie has been found safe and they will now work with the district attorney to “ensure Gary Simpson is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Simpson is currently charged with especially aggravated kidnapping. Additional charges could be possible.
Simpson is accused of lying to school officials as he checked her out of school on May 4.
Prior to picking her up, Simpson purchased camping supplies and clothes for himself and Carlie. The two were then spotted at a local grocery store before an AMBER Alert was issued for Carlie on May 5.