A New Hampshire man has been arrested and charged with kidnapping in the case of 15-year-old Abigail Hernandez, who vanished for nine months and returned home last week, police said Monday.
Nathaniel Kibby, 34, was nabbed at his home in Gorham and will be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon, according to officials.
"Over the course of the past week, law enforcement officers have worked around the clock to ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding Abigail's disappearance and return," New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster said in a statement.
"Abigail Hernandez provided the police with details of her kidnapping sufficient to warrant today's arrest."
In a statement issued through a family spokesman, Abigail and her mother Zenya said: "We are relieved that this is finally over. We are relaxing now and spending time with one another. We appreciate the support of all those who've been with us since the beginning."
Abigail disappeared on Oct. 9, 2013, on her way home from high school in North Conway. After she resurfaced last week, authorities provided little information about where she had been or how she was found.
Before Kibby's arrest, the teen's mother told TODAY that her daughter did not run away and was shockingly thin and pale when she returned.
"I feel like they just took and ripped something out of our souls,'' she said.
A neighbor of Kibby said he moved into the mobile-home park in Gorham about five years ago and kept to himself as he walked through the neighborhood with his Doberman.
At about noon on Thursday, town police, state troopers and FBI agents — some in SWAT gear — converged on the 80-foot trailer, said the neighbor, Donald St. Germain.
"That's the most excitement I've seen in 32 years," he said.
St. Germain said he had never seen anyone fitting Abigail's description in the area.
Kibby's former high school classmate, Tim Wiggin, said he was shocked when he saw a mugshot of the suspect, because he realized he had gone to school with him in North Conway, the same town where Abigail lives.
He said Kibby was an oddball who wore dark trench coats, talked about how he was a vampire and formed a small club called The Vipers.
"He was a real loner," Wiggins said.