Suspect surrenders in teen's alleged abduction

CLEVELAND, TX Terry Dale Carnes, 43, was arrested late Monday afternoon. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office says Carnes surrendered himself to at a substation in New Caney. He is being transported to the jail in Conroe.

We spoke with the victim earlier Monday:

The 14-year-old girl says she had just come home from church and was walking alone to a friend's house nearby when the guy attacked. We're not identifying her because she's afraid he might come after her again.

"It was scary. I didn't want to die. I was thinking, praying the Lord would help me," said the girl.

The scratches are on her body are fresh reminders of the escape she made running from him.

"He could have killed me, raped me, seriously injured me so I couldn't get away," she said.

The girl was walking home shortly before 2pm Sunday on Diamond T Drive. She tells us a car stopped behind her and a man got out who introduced himself as Terry and asked if she wanted a ride. The girl said no and that's when the suspect made his move.

"He grabbed me and kinda shoved me into the car. The door was locked so I couldn't get out," the girl said.

Investigators say Carnes drove the girl to a secluded area on East River Drive nearby where he tried to sexually assault her. She says she bit him when he pulled her by the hair and she escaped by running away into the nearby woods. She flagged down a passing motorist later for help.

In the chaos, neither she nor her mother got that woman's name. They are eternally grateful for her help.

"An angel had to have been with her. I'm so proud of her," said the girls' mother. "It's scary to think what he could have done with her."

Fortunately, the teenage girl was not hurt other than some bumps and bruises.

Carnes does have a criminal history. No word yet on what charges he faces.