For Immediate Release: February 5, 2008

MAN WANTED FOR FLEEING JUSTICE WITH MINOR GIRL
FROM VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

The FBI and the Ventura Police Department are seeking the public's help in determining the whereabouts of Joshua Tafoya who is believed to have fled California with a minor girl. Tafoya was charged federally with leaving California after being charged in December 2007 by California authorities with child stealing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and car theft. The victim, from Oxnard, California, is not being identified because she is a minor and the victim of a sex offense. She is believed to have been taken across the U.S.-Mexican border by 20-year-old subject, Andrew Josh Tafoya. The victim had been involved in a relationship with Tafoya for several months during early 2007. When the illegal relationship was reported to police, Tafoya was charged with unlawful sex with a minor. Tafoya was convicted and served a work-furlough sentence, however, continued to remain in contact with the victim, investigators have learned. According to detectives in Ventura, Tafoya was released from the Ventura County work furlough program on December 12, 2007 and subsequently stole a white 2008 Acura from a local dealership. The following day, Tafoya and the victim were reported missing; Tafoya from his home and the victim, from her high school in Ventura, California, where she attends in her sophomore year. The stolen vehicle, a white Acura with license plate number 6AXX928, was tracked crossing the U.S./Mexican border at San Ysidro by Customs Border Protection. On 12/14/08, detectives with the Ventura Police Department obtained a warrant in Ventura County Superior Court for Tafoya, charging him with Section 278 of the California Penal Code (PC), Child-Stealing; Section 272(a)(1), Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor; and Section 10851 of the vehicle code, Theft of a Vehicle. In addition, the victim's family filed a missing persons report with the United States Consulate office in Tijuana, Mexico. On December 31, 2007, the FBI obtained a federal arrest warrant after Tafoya had been charged by criminal complaint with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. To date, relatives and family members have not seen nor heard from either Tafoya or the victim. The victim took no extra clothes or anything else to school the morning she was reported missing that would indicate potential flight. Investigators are working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), who have distributed material to law enforcement in the U.S. and Mexico in an effort to locate Tafoya and the victim. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of the victim or Tafoya is urged to contact the Ventura Police Department, the FBI or their local law enforcement agency immediately. In Los Angeles, the FBI may be contacted 24 Hours a day at 310 477-6565. Reward money is available. Information will be afforded confidentiality and anonymity is guaranteed. A description of Tafoya is listed below and his photographs are available by contacting the FBI in Los Angeles at the below-listed contact numbers. Last: TAFOYA First: ANDREW Middle: JOSHUA Race: White (Hispanic) Sex: M Height 6' Weight 190 Hair Black Eyes Brown Age: 20 Contact: Laura Eimiller: 310 996-3343, Vickie Hampton-Franklin: 310 996-3342 or Lourdes Arocho: 310 996-4402 (Spanish Speaker) Ventura County Sheriff's Department: Public Information Officer Sergeant Jack Richards: 805 339-4400