Teh One Who Knocks
10-22-2014, 11:01 AM
Nicole Vap and USA Today, news source
DENVER – The FBI Denver Field Office confirms they helped find and return three teenage girls to Denver after they were detained in Frankfurt, Germany while attempting to fly to Turkey and then on to Syria.
"The juveniles are safe and reunited with their families," said FBI spokesperson Sue Payne in a statement.
A senior official told NBC News that the girls were heading to Syria to join jihad fighters.
Two girls are sisters, ages 15 and 16, of ethnic Somali origin, and the third teen is from Sudan, the Voice of America reported. One girl reportedly told German authorities the three were "going to Turkey to study."
The girls boarded a flight out of Denver International Airport Friday. From Denver, they flew to Chicago and then to Frankfurt. They never made it to their final destination: Istanbul.
The U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt was alerted to the girls' plans following calls from their parents asking them to stop the girls from carrying them out.
Before they secretly took off for DIA, runaway reports show they lied to their parents. One girl's father thought she took the bus to school on Friday morning.
The two other girls stole $2,000 from their mother, according to documents. They claimed they couldn't couldn't go to school because they were sick. Pete Williams of NBC news says it's very likely the FBI has serious concerns about their potential plans.
The girls were returned to Colorado on Sunday. The FBI helped return the girls to Denver.
In a follow up visit to one of the girl's home after they were returned, a sheriff's deputy noted in the report the teens were very vague about their plans. They would only say they were going to Syria to visit "family."
Investigators were now reviewing evidence, including the girls' computers.
A U.S. official called the case "concerning" both to the community and to the country in general. The official said the evidence gathered so far made it clear that the girls were headed to Syria, though the official said investigators were still determining what sort of contacts they had in that country.
The official said investigators would be trying to figure out whether there were "like-minded" friends and acquaintances in the girls' social circle.
9NEWS talked to the spokesperson for the school district where the girls attend school. The district told 9NEWS the girls could be victims of an online predator.
The district advises parents to be vigilant about checking their children's phones and computers to find out what their kids are up to online.
No investigation was opened in Germany because authorities there told the Voice of America there was no indication of criminal or terrorist activity.
At this point they have not be arrested or charged. Minors rarely face charges on a federal level and if they are, those charges and the result are not usually made public for privacy reasons.
The case comes six months after a 19-year-old woman was arrested at DIA as she prepared to fly to Syria, via Turkey, to join Islamist fighters.
Shannon Maureen Conley, who was raised in Arvada and converted to Islam, pleaded guilty in September to conspiring with Yousr Mouelhi to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, specifically al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
She faces a maximum prison sentence of five years, but as part of a plea bargain, she may receive a lesser term by cooperating with other investigations or testifying before a grand jury.
DENVER – The FBI Denver Field Office confirms they helped find and return three teenage girls to Denver after they were detained in Frankfurt, Germany while attempting to fly to Turkey and then on to Syria.
"The juveniles are safe and reunited with their families," said FBI spokesperson Sue Payne in a statement.
A senior official told NBC News that the girls were heading to Syria to join jihad fighters.
Two girls are sisters, ages 15 and 16, of ethnic Somali origin, and the third teen is from Sudan, the Voice of America reported. One girl reportedly told German authorities the three were "going to Turkey to study."
The girls boarded a flight out of Denver International Airport Friday. From Denver, they flew to Chicago and then to Frankfurt. They never made it to their final destination: Istanbul.
The U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt was alerted to the girls' plans following calls from their parents asking them to stop the girls from carrying them out.
Before they secretly took off for DIA, runaway reports show they lied to their parents. One girl's father thought she took the bus to school on Friday morning.
The two other girls stole $2,000 from their mother, according to documents. They claimed they couldn't couldn't go to school because they were sick. Pete Williams of NBC news says it's very likely the FBI has serious concerns about their potential plans.
The girls were returned to Colorado on Sunday. The FBI helped return the girls to Denver.
In a follow up visit to one of the girl's home after they were returned, a sheriff's deputy noted in the report the teens were very vague about their plans. They would only say they were going to Syria to visit "family."
Investigators were now reviewing evidence, including the girls' computers.
A U.S. official called the case "concerning" both to the community and to the country in general. The official said the evidence gathered so far made it clear that the girls were headed to Syria, though the official said investigators were still determining what sort of contacts they had in that country.
The official said investigators would be trying to figure out whether there were "like-minded" friends and acquaintances in the girls' social circle.
9NEWS talked to the spokesperson for the school district where the girls attend school. The district told 9NEWS the girls could be victims of an online predator.
The district advises parents to be vigilant about checking their children's phones and computers to find out what their kids are up to online.
No investigation was opened in Germany because authorities there told the Voice of America there was no indication of criminal or terrorist activity.
At this point they have not be arrested or charged. Minors rarely face charges on a federal level and if they are, those charges and the result are not usually made public for privacy reasons.
The case comes six months after a 19-year-old woman was arrested at DIA as she prepared to fly to Syria, via Turkey, to join Islamist fighters.
Shannon Maureen Conley, who was raised in Arvada and converted to Islam, pleaded guilty in September to conspiring with Yousr Mouelhi to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, specifically al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
She faces a maximum prison sentence of five years, but as part of a plea bargain, she may receive a lesser term by cooperating with other investigations or testifying before a grand jury.