WAR.WIRE
German police confirm former US marine's arrest
WIESBADEN, Germany (AFP) Jul 16, 2003
German police confirmed Wednesday that the former US marine who vanished five days ago with a 12-year-old British schoolgirl is in their custody, a federal crime office (BKA) spokesman said.

Toby Studabaker, 31, was arrested in Frankfurt around midday Wednesday based on a request from British authorities.

Studabaker ran away with the girl, Shevaun Pennington, to Paris on Saturday. The two met on the Internet.

The spokesman said that Studabaker had told the German authorities when he was captured that Pennington was already on a plane to Britain.

British police said earlier Wednesday that Pennington had been found safe and is back in Britain.

Authorities here will now attempt to determine whether Studabaker had broken the law in Germany and then decide whether to extradite him.

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