BURRILLVILLE – A registered Level 3 sex offender is being charged with child snatching and enticing a child after police located a missing 12-year-old girl, and learned he had left her on the side of the road in Warwick.
The girl, a student at Burrillville Middle School, was reported missing on Friday, Dec. 10 after not returning home that afternoon. She was located after an investigation by the Burrillville Police Department revealed she was in the presence of Chandler Cardente, 27, of Cranston, and has since been returned home safely.
“An investigation into her whereabouts commenced immediately and continued into the evening hours,” said Burrillville Police Col. Stephen Lynch.
According to Lynch, Cardente, who was convicted of first degree child molestation in 2014, posed online as a 17-year-old. The suspect picked up the student on the side of Route 102 near the BMS soccer field after school let out Friday, and she initially went with him willingly.
Family and friends took to social media to seek help from others in the search.
“Cardente learned that the police were looking for him and immediately kicked the girl out of his vehicle in the Jefferson Boulevard area of Warwick,” Lynch said.
Cardente was subsequently located in Cranston and taken into custody by Cranston Police. He was returned to Burrillville Police headquarters for questioning.
Electronic tracking of the 12 year-old female led police in Warwick to locate her curled up on the ground to the side of the roadway on Jefferson Boulvard at approximately 1 a.m., according to Lynch.
Lynch noted that Cardente is a probation violator. He is now facing charges with Burrillville Police and is being held at the ACI pending formal arraignment on Monday, Dec. 13.
Lynch said Sgt. Ryan Hughes, Officers Bret Simas, Eric Harris and Sean Mulkern can be credited with an intense investigation that led to the girl’s recovery.
The family thanked all who provided information leading to the arrest and her safe return.
