TULSA, Okla. — A 14-year-old Broken Arrow girl is safe after spending a week with a suspected child predator she met online.
Her disappearance prompted a warning from her father for parents to monitor their children’s online activity.
Tulsa police arrested Matthew Puza, 43, on complaints of making lewd proposals to a child and harboring a runaway. 2 News is showing his mugshot because police believe there could be additional victims.
WATCH: IN CUSTODY: Man accused of grooming Broken Arrow teenager arrested:
IN CUSTODY: Man accused of grooming Broken Arrow teenager arrested
The girl’s father, Eric Tole, said his family believed they did everything right to keep their daughter safe online.
“I am a more conservative parent, and we don’t allow social media. We do our best to protect her from the dangers of the Internet, Snapchat, Instagram, Discord.”
But Tole said they later discovered she used multiple social media accounts without their knowledge.
What began as a runaway report to Broken Arrow Police on July 11 quickly escalated into a multi-agency investigation involving the FBI and the Tulsa Police Department’s SPIDER Unit.
Tulsa Police Lieutenant Mark Kraft said investigators found evidence someone groomed the girl online.
“There were a lot of indicators that this likely wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill runaway, but there were signs that she had actually been groomed and lured away.”
The breakthrough came a week later when the FBI located surveillance video from July 11 showing the girl at a QuikTrip talking to Puza, who worked there. The video shows Puza walking the girl to a car outside, then meeting her later at a nearby restaurant.
Investigators used Flock cameras to track down Puza’s vehicle.
When officers knocked on his hotel room door, they found the girl inside and arrested him.
Kraft said the suspect’s behavior fits a pattern, “The behaviors that this suspect exhibited are definitely predatory. This is not his first time.”
Police believe there could be more victims. Tole said he hopes other parents take the case as a warning.
“If there is anything I can say to parents nowadays, monitor, monitor, monitor their online activities. Have conversations with your child.”
Police want anyone with information or who could be another victim to reach out to them at Tulsa Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.
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