FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – An 18-year-old man in Palm Coast was arrested after he was found with a missing Central Florida girl earlier this month, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
In a release, deputies said they responded to Beckner Lane on Jan. 11 after the 15-year-old girl was first reported missing.
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“The girl’s father told deputies he believed his daughter was with Brandon Lee Gray II, 18, of Palm Coast, and that Gray had previously taken the juvenile out of the state without permission in December of 2025,” the release reads.
According to investigators, the girl was found with Gray at that time in Valdosta, Georgia, and Gray was told that the girl was underage and he didn’t have permission to be in contact with her. But this prior incident wasn’t reported to law enforcement.
This month, detectives said they found out that Gray had bought two bus tickets to Houston, Texas, under fictitious names using his mother’s bank account.
Afterward, Houston police helped find the girl at a bus station on Jan. 11, and she was taken into protective custody before being returned to Florida, deputies added.
Meanwhile, detectives said they obtained a warrant for Gray’s arrest just a few days later, and he was taken into custody on Monday after he returned to his home in Palm Coast.
“Gray was on felony juvenile probation at the time of his arrest for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon stemming from a 2023 incident,” the release continues.
However, when Gray was being taken to jail, two hidden electronic vape pens were found “strapped to Gray’s penis using hair ties,” investigators noted. Gray reportedly claimed he had panicked and failed to disclose the items.
As such, Gray now faces charges of depriving custody of a minor, two counts of smuggling a vapor electronic device into a correctional institution, and felony violation of probation. He was later released on bond of $16,000.
“This case shows just how important it is for parents to be involved in their child’s life,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “I commend our deputies and investigators for quickly tracking this child to Houston and working with Texas authorities to quickly recover this child and return her home. We were able to locate the missing juvenile the same day she was reported missing, despite her being nearly 1,000 miles from home and this dirtbag went to jail.”