A man was behind bars Friday on suspicion of abducting and raping a 17-year-old girl this week in a neighborhood near Moonlight State Beach.
David Francis Canfield, 39, allegedly confronted the teenager as she was walking in the 600 block of Third Street in Encinitas on Wednesday afternoon, ordered her to go into a nearby parking lot and forced her into a vehicle, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
Canfield then allegedly sexually assaulted the girl and fled, Lt. Lon Nguyen said.
The following day, the San Diego Fugitive Task Force arrested Canfield in the 6300 block of University Avenue in the Rolando district of San Diego.
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Sheriff's officials said they used license-plate readers to help identify and track Canfield.
Canfield booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and forcible oral copulation. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Anyone with information about the case is being urged to call the San Diego Sheriff's Department at (858) 285-6222, or, after hours at (858) 868-3200.
