13-year-old Georgia girl rescued at Jacksonville motel after abduction

A 13-year-old Georgia girl was found safe at a Jacksonville motel on Philips Highway Thursday night after authorities said she was taken in Georgia and driven more than 130 miles to Florida. Jacksonville sheriff’s officials said the girl’s mother, 32-year-old Giovannie Carter, did not have custody of the teen.

Investigators tracked the child to the motel through a coordinated effort involving the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, FBI Jacksonville and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The girl had been abducted Thursday morning and was recovered the same night after law enforcement converged on the Jacksonville property.

When officers arrived on July 16, 2026, 42-year-old Jonathon Kelly ran from the room, jumped into a vehicle and tried to flee, the sheriff’s office said. Kelly nearly struck a JSO SWAT vehicle before crashing into the motel. Kelly and Carter were both facing multiple charges.

The rescue ended a cross-state search that began after the teen was taken from Georgia and moved into Jacksonville, where officers said she was located inside the motel room. JSO said the girl was receiving resources and support after the ordeal, a response that often becomes essential when a child is recovered after a violent family-linked abduction.

Action News Jax reported that the recovery involved federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, reflecting the scale of the operation needed to locate the child and bring the case to a close. The sheriff’s office also described the rescue as a coordinated operation with its SWAT team joining the federal and state partners at the motel.

The case highlighted the vulnerability of children caught in custody breakdowns, particularly when a person who does not have legal custody is able to move a child across state lines before authorities can intervene. In this case, the coordinated response in Jacksonville brought the search to an end with the girl safe and both adults facing criminal charges.