Police rescue abducted 11-year-old girl after tracking iPad

Police rescued an 11-year-old girl who had been abducted by using her iPad's geolocation feature to track her, according to a Pennsylvania district attorney's office.

Pennsylvania State Police tracked down and arrested Keith Lilliock, 43, and charged him with luring a child into a motor vehicle and interference with the custody of children, the Westmoreland District Attorney's Office said.

The child told police she was taking a bike trip to Pittsburgh to visit a friend. She stopped at a gas station to take a break and left her bike at the station, after which she walked to a nearby Dollar General, according to a report by ABC News.

While she was in the store, Mr Lilliock — reportedly an employee — allegedly approached her and offered to drive her where she needed once he closed the store.

The District Attorney's Office reviewed video surveillance from the store and said Mr Lilliock spoke with the girl for more than 20 minutes. Police used bloodhounds to track the girl's scent at the gas station, which led them to the store.

Police claim that Mr Lilliock drove the girl to his home in South Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

"The victim told police Lilliock rubbed her leg and touched her stomach area under her shirt before she asked him to take her to a friend's house in Latrobe," a DA press release said.

Police used the iPad to locate the girl's location and arrived at the home, where they recovered her and arrested Mr Lilliock.

He told officers that he did offer the girl a ride but denied touching her, police said.

When police asked him what happened inside the vehicle, Mr Lilliock allegedly responded "I did not touch an 11-year-old," despite not being asked if he had touched the girl.

He also allegedly told them that he used to be a "bad guy" but had since converted to Christianity, noting that before his conversion he had been attracted to 16-year-old girls. He allegedly insisted that he no longer was attracted to minors.

Mr Lilliock is currently being held without bail in the Westmoreland County Prison.

Police have previously used GPS technology, like the services found in cars, to track missing and abducted people.