The Pennsylvania State Police have issued a statewide Amber Alert for 16-year-old Marjani Aquil following Aquil's abduction from her home in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon.
According to WIPX-TV, authorities believe that a former boyfriend of Aquil's, 19-year-old Jermaine Laquay Rodgers is responsible for her abduction. Aquil was last seen at her home at approximately 4:30 p.m. when Rodgers allegedly broke down the door to enter the residence.
Rodgers was armed at the time of the abduction, according to a friend of Aquil's who was at the home when the abduction took place. Police have not confirmed that Rodgers was armed, though a criminal complaint states that there is security camera footage of Aquil's kidnapping.
Aquil is described as a black female, 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds. Aquil has long black hair with blonde highlights and was last seen wearing a grey long sleeve shirt, lt. blue jeans, tan boots.
Rodgers is described as a black male, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds. Rodgers has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen driving a red sedan, according to the Amber Alert.
The criminal complaint has charged Rodgers with kidnapping of a minor inflicting bodily injury, terroristic threats, simple assault, burglary, unlawful restraint of a minor, harassment, and criminal mischief, the Centre Daily Times reports.
Penn Hills Police Chief Howard Burton told reporters that this isn't the first time Rodgers has been accused of abducting Aquil. He was charged in 2018 for holding her for several days against her will.
Aquil is the niece of professional wrestler Kurt Angle. Angle currently works for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he most recently served as the on-screen manager for the Raw series.
Angle shared information about Aquil on his Facebook page Wednesday night, saying, "Hello everyone. My beautiful 16-year-old niece Marjani Aquil got abducted today by a 19 year old guy. Please call the police if you have seen this girl."
Angle followed up with a description of Aquil.
Hours later, he posted again, linking to a news story about Aquil's abduction, adding, "Please continue sharing. Thank you all for your support. Uncle Kurt Loves you Mini. Come back home to us safely. Please lets find my niece."
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