AUBURN, Wash. — Authorities have arrested an Auburn man in Texas in connection with the alleged kidnapping of his friend’s wife, who was found safe and reunited with her family in Guatemala, according to the Auburn Police Department.
Daniel Lopez, 24, was taken into custody by the FBI on Oct. 19 in Houston, following a multi-state investigation.
Lopez faces a first-degree kidnapping charge, stemming from an incident on Oct. 13 when 21-year-old Jackelin Rocio Perez was reportedly taken at gunpoint from her Auburn apartment.
According to court documents, the investigation began on Oct. 14, when Jackelin’s husband, Anderson Jordan, called 911 to report her missing.
Jordan told police that his wife had been alone at their apartment in the 5600 block of I Street Northeast in Auburn, when a friend, identified as “E.G.,” was supposed to drop off $2,000 he had borrowed.
Jordan explained that he had met “E.G.” through his construction job and had lent him money over the past few months.
“E.G.,” a 17-year-old male acquaintance, had called Jordan that evening, saying he intended to repay the debt.
Because he was at work, Jordan instructed “E.G.” to leave the money with his wife, who was at home.
Jordan attempted to reach his wife and “E.G.” around 6:30 p.m. but received no response from either.
When he arrived home shortly afterward, he found the door open and Jackelin missing.
Inside, he noted that her cell phone, identification, and clothes were left behind in the bedroom, deepening his concern.
He immediately contacted family and friends, hoping to locate his wife, but no one had seen or heard from her.
As part of the investigation, detectives spoke to two witnesses, identified only as “W1″ and “W2,” who had been near the apartment complex on the evening of Jackelin’s disappearance.
According to W1, she saw a man give her a “peace sign” as he walked past her car in the parking lot around 6 p.m.
W2, W1′s boyfriend, described the same individual as a young Hispanic man with a distinctive facial tattoo.
As W2 entered the building, he noticed Jackelin leaving her apartment in a hurry, barefoot and only partially made up.
He said she appeared to be moving quickly toward the exit, where two Hispanic men, including the man he saw earlier, were waiting.
As W2 attempted to leave the building, one of the men allegedly confronted him, brandishing a handgun and demanding, “Who do you work for? What do you bang? Do you work for Gato?”
W2 said he replied that he didn’t “bang” or work for anyone, and he observed as the men spoke to Jackelin in Spanish, which he didn’t understand.
Shortly after, Jackelin was seen leaving with the two men, who escorted her to a vehicle in the parking lot.
W2 focused on moving away from the area and didn’t see if they forced her into the car.
Based on witness statements and a review of surveillance footage from a nearby business, detectives identified a black Honda, model year estimated between 2017 and 2020, which was seen arriving and leaving the complex around the time of the incident.
Surveillance showed the vehicle entering the parking lot at approximately 5:51 p.m. and leaving shortly after Jackelin’s disappearance.
Detectives traced the car’s license plate to Lopez, who also owns a BMW with a previous incident report involving bullet damage in September.
Both vehicles matched witness descriptions.
The FBI CAST team tracked cellphone data associated with a number tied to Lopez.
The data indicated that Lopez’s phone was in the vicinity of the apartment at the time of Jackelin’s abduction.
Lopez’s phone later showed movement out of Washington state, leading agents to Texas.
On Oct. 19, FBI agents and local Houston law enforcement located and arrested Lopez near a hotel, where he was found with the phone connected to the abduction.
During his arrest, a firearm was found with an individual accompanying him.
Meanwhile, on Oct. 19, Mexican immigration authorities in southern Mexico encountered Jackelin.
According to a DEA agent involved in the case, Jackelin recounted the events, explaining that she had been taken from her apartment at gunpoint and transported to various locations before being driven to Tijuana.
During the journey, she stated, she was accompanied by “E.G.,” who was reportedly distressed and crying at times.
Once in Mexico, they were separated by immigration officials, who transported Jackelin back to Guatemala.
The Auburn Police Department, the FBI, and DEA continue to investigate, and authorities are working to determine the exact whereabouts of “E.G.,” who remains unaccounted for.