Thank God, the girl was found and she was not harmed. Being a mother of 3 daughters, this is something we all fear and most experience at some point in time, most just don't deal with it publically. My oldest is 14, and she looks to be 18 maybe older, and her wardrobe consists of jeans and T's, it could be worse if I bought her clothes like I see girls wearing at any given time theres plenty to see at the mall. My daughter nows right from wrong, period!!! This young mans life will be changed over this, for the worst. She should be held accountable for her actions just as, he will be made to. Who knows where she may end up next time! If, she is taught a lesson now, maybe there will not be a next time!

Yes 15 is still a child BUT she certainly wasn't acting like a child when she ran off with this 21 year old man!I agree with Ms Peck that this girl needs to be punished also and yes,it does take 2 to tango so BOTH should be punished, not just the young man.

i live beside fort bragga nd why i feel for the family of the girl, i can say from experiacne that girls cannot wait to grow up entirely to fast. Military "Men" that have just joined have been seperated from family and are looking to feel close to someone. he was dumb to meet her and pick her up, but girls develop physically fast and soon think they are ready for an older male. She should testify and the punishment should be accordingly issued. Now for the military part of the boys sentence, it will play a bigger role in his career than he knows, as Joe Allison stated.

in sum: he shoudl be punished but can he be blamed if the girl looks/acts older and lied about her age?

Mrs. Peck, did you read the part where it said that the girl was 15 years old? She is still a child. I'm sure that her parents will probably punish her and she will have punishment from the juvenile courts. This guy is 21 years old. He should know better. So, yes Mrs. Peck, I do hope that he faces tough punishment.

While the young woman may have gone voluntarily with the soldier, being a minor means she will have little or no legal punishment for her act. What her parents do may be another story. The soldier however, is in trouble. He is an adult and there will be probably many charges, the very least being contributing to the delinquency of a minor. To make matters worse, he will also be prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). All military personnel are under this code and punishment under the code is in addition to what he will receive in civilian courts. This punishment at the very least will be non-judicial and may mean being fined and confined to base for a time. Worst case scenerio for this young man is jail time in a military prison like Ft. Levenworth in Kansas, reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge. This young man made a very bad decision when he picked up this girl, and for a few moments of pleasure he may have screwed up the rest of his life.

I would like to comment on Ms. Bradfords statement that she hope this guy faces tough punishment. Hey, it take to to tango!When are these young girls going to be held accountable for their actions. I'm sure she probably meet him on the net. Were are her parents and I wonder what punishment she will get?

I am glad the girls was found,I am not sure about a very harsh punishment for the soldier alone, she ran away with him and they should both be punished.Who knows if she told her right age,people shouldn't judge another person without knowing the whole story

Jim, I totally agree. I live in Elizabethton and have children who go to school at Hampton. I heard about this young girl missing at work. People were asking me if I knew her. I am glad that they found her safe. I can only imagine what her parents have been going through. This guy needs to face some tough punishment.

The news and the paper needs to do a better job with amber alerts. I am glad the young lady was found. The soldier should receive a dishonorable discharge and sent to the brig.