Sheriff talks to ABC-7 about how investigators solved kidnapping case

ABC-7 spoke with the El Paso County Sheriff about how the office was able to quickly close a rape case involving a 12-year-old girl.

Carlos Holcombe, 43, was booked Sunday into the El Paso County Jail, charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and aggravated kidnapping.

He’s accused of taking the girl at gunpoint from Horizon High School Friday evening, driving her to his home nearby and raping her.

Holcombe is being held on a $1 million bond.

The investigation into what happened near the Horizon football field Friday night started with surveillance photos captured by upgraded security cameras.

“We’re very happy that Clint ISD had recently upgraded their surveillance system around their schools,” El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles told ABC-7 Wednesday. “It provided very clear photos of the vehicle and the suspect identified by the victim.”

Wiles said another key piece to solving the crime was the victim herself.

“A 12-year-old girl was a very strong witness. She was really paying attention to what was going on,” he said.

Wiles explained how the victim told detectives the drive to the location where she was raped was a short one.

“We had detectives working in the neighborhoods, driving around looking for the subject and vehicle,” Wiles said. “And by chance, saw a vehicle matching the description in the garage of the home. And then when (the deputy) stopped there he saw a subject matching the description.”

Wiles applauded the detectives and the technology used to nab the suspect. But he added, sometimes, it’s not just good work, it’s good luck.

“Sometimes we think there’s divine intervention there,” said Wiles. “Had that door been closed or the detective passed by a different time, we may not have seen it.”

The Sheriff’s Office is still looking for witnesses who may have seen Holcombe around Horizon High School or the Cinemark movie theater on Montana, where the 12-year-old was dropped off Friday night.

Call the Sheriff’s Office if you have any information.