The Washington Post
A Pittsburgh teen-ager who vanished from her home on New Year’s Day and was found Friday inside a Herndon, Va., townhouse was quietly reunited with her family Saturday at Manassas Regional Airport, then flown back to Pennsylvania in good condition, her family said.
Meanwhile, ScottTyree, 38, the man accused of driving her from Pittsburgh to northern Virginia and chaining her to a bed, has cooperated with federal investigators, authorities said. He is being held in the Alexandria city jail while awaiting arraignment tomorrow in federal court.
"I won the world’s biggest lottery," Charles Kozakiewicz said after picking up his 13-year-old daughter, Alicia, at the Manassas airport. "I can’t be happier."
Charles Kozakiewicz, whose father is a former jail warden in Pennsylvania, knew that the chances his daughter would be found alive and well were slim after she disappeared Tuesday night. Alicia Kozakiewicz was a regular Internet surfer, and federal investigators believe she might have met Tyree in a chat room. After finishing a traditional New Year’s dinner of pork and sauerkraut with her parents and older brother about 6 p.m., she walked toward her bedroom and was not seen again.
Her family quickly publicized her disappearance. Her name and picture appeared on the front pages of Pittsburgh newspapers and on television. Charles Kozakiewicz said the publicity helped rescue his daughter. "It felt like a jigsaw puzzle, with all those pieces," he said. "And we got her home."
Federal investigators in Pittsburgh said Tyree, a programmer at Computer Associates International Inc.’s Herndon office, posted a photo of Alicia on the Internet for an online acquaintance in Tampa. That man then visited the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Web site, saw the picture of Alicia posted there, and called the FBI on Thursday night. The FBI tracked down Tyree through the Internet provider Yahoo, federal officials said.
A squad of agents visited Tyree’s rented townhouse duplex shortly before 3 p.m. Friday, knocked, then broke in through his front door. A neighbor said Alicia was freed several minutes later, after bolt cutters were brought into Tyree’s house.
Tyree was arrested about an hour later at his office. Computer Associates spokesman Robert Gordon said Tyree joined the company in March 2000 after it acquired another company where Tyree worked.
Alicia was evaluated at Inova Fairfax Hospital, then released to Fairfax County’s child protective services department for the night, said Herndon police Sgt. Donald Amos. Federal agents and Herndon detectives also "spent quite a bit of time talking to her," Amos said.
Alicia’s family was outside putting up fliers of her Friday when the FBI called to report that she had been rescued, Charles Kozakiewicz said. Saturday morning, the FBI flew Alicia’s parents and grandparents to northern Virginia from Pittsburgh by private jet.
"We had a real nice reunion," Charles Kozakiewicz said, adding that he was grateful they were able to hug Alicia in private, away from reporters who surrounded their home later yesterday. The family spent about an hour at the airport, he said.
The family flew back on the FBI jet and arrived in Pittsburgh shortly after noon, Charles Kozakiewicz said.
Tyree’s journey is just beginning. After his arrest, FBI agents took him to Herndon police headquarters, where he was interviewed past midnight, Amos said, indicating that Tyree was answering agents’ questions. Federal authorities in Pittsburgh charged Tyree with transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual conduct.
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