Teen in central Florida Amber Alert case found safe, investigators say

Alexander Lopez (Orange County Sheriff's Office)

Days after a statewide Amber Alert was issued for a teenage girl who had possibly been abducted, investigators say the teen has been located and is safe.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued the Amber Alert Friday for the girl, who was believed to be approximately 16 years old, after an Orlando-area gas station attendant reported the teen may have been forced into a car following a struggle.

Deputies arrested 44-year-old old Alexander Lopez Friday afternoon after he crashed into a retention pond, but the girl was nowhere to be found. Hours later, investigators said she was spotted on video and appeared to be safe.

"Detectives were made aware that she was spotted on video, not injured and seemingly safe, from a timeframe shortly before the suspect in this case was apprehended in south Orange County," the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

The Amber Alert had been canceled Friday evening, several hours after deputies arrested the suspect, but investigators had not made contact with the teen until Monday morning.

"She is safe and did not want law enforcement intervention," the sheriff's office said Monday in its update on Twitter.