Overview
- Officers responding to a welfare call on Oct. 30 found an adult woman handcuffed to exercise equipment outside a home in southeast Austin.
- Police said the woman showed injuries consistent with long-term restraint and reported being held for months without being allowed to leave.
- First responders cut through heavy metal links to free her, and Austin-Travis County EMS transported her to a hospital, where she remains.
- APD arrested Michelle Garcia, Crystal Garcia, Mache Carney, Juan Pablo Castro, and Maynard Lefevers on charges including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, injury to an elderly or disabled person, and unlawful restraint.
- Three young children found at the residence were placed in Child Protective Services custody, and APD’s Human Trafficking unit asks for tips or anonymous submissions through Capital Area Crime Stoppers.