Amber Alert suspect arrested in Hobble Creek Canyon, children safely recovered

Photo: Unsplash // Max Fleischmann

SPRINGVILLE, Utah — A man suspected of abducting two children was arrested Monday evening in Hobble Creek Canyon, and the children were recovered safely, according to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to a report around 7:30 p.m. of a white Ford F-150 that appeared to be disabled about a quarter-mile up the Left Fork of Hobble Creek Canyon. The vehicle matched the description in an Amber Alert issued earlier in the day.

Witnesses told authorities they saw an adult male and two children walking away from the truck and heading further up the canyon.

Utah County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Utah County Major Crimes detectives, and Springville police responded to the area. Investigators located the group and arrested Ricardo Rojel Trujillo. The two children were found safe and later transferred to the Division of Child and Family Services at the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.

Riverdale police took custody of Trujillo, and the truck was recovered with assistance from Springville police.

“The Utah County Sheriff’s Office is very grateful for the attentive witnesses who saw the truck and called into dispatch,” the agency said in a statement.