BUNA, TX — A 20-year-old Jasper man is behind bars after allegedly picking up a missing 16-year-old girl from a local convenience store, crossing state lines into Louisiana, and eventually turning himself in after a multi-agency search tracking his movements.
Kollin Bishop surrendered to authorities at the Jasper County Jail on Friday, June 12, 2026. He is currently awaiting arraignment on multiple severe felony warrants following a fast-moving, multi-state kidnapping and sexual assault investigation.
Convenience Store Surveillance Traces Disappearance
The investigation ignited on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at approximately 9:00 a.m., when the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) fielded an emergency call regarding a missing teenager in the Buna area.
Responding deputies learned that the 16-year-old had walked to a neighborhood convenience store but failed to return home. A frantic physical search of the storefront and surrounding property by the teenager's parent yielded no results.
JCSO detectives immediately pulled and reviewed the store's exterior surveillance footage. The video captured a critical timeline break: at approximately 8:39 a.m., the minor walked out to the parking lot, entered a black sedan driven by an unknown male, and sped away heading north on U.S. Highway 96.
Interstate Search Intercepts Suspect near Baton Rouge
Leveraging digital tracking data and cellular records, Investigator Karli Cherry and the JCSO Criminal Investigations Division quickly identified the driver as Bishop. Digging deeper into the pair's digital footprints, cyber detectives determined that Bishop had been engaging the minor in a pattern of inappropriate, grooming-style contact over the preceding several weeks.
As local, state, and federal networks pinged Bishop's vehicle, investigators traced his location across state lines to Port Allen, Louisiana, a city just outside Baton Rouge.
Realizing that law enforcement had successfully mapped his coordinates and vehicle profile, JCSO investigators established direct contact with Bishop. Faced with imminent interception by local tactical units, Bishop drove directly to the Port Allen Police Department, dropping the teenager off unharmed inside the lobby before fleeing the scene. Louisiana authorities secured the minor, who was quickly reunited with her parents.
Inter-State Sexual Assault Pattern Exposed
With the survivor safe, investigators conducted specialized interviews to piece together the mechanics of the abduction. The ongoing probe revealed a much more severe pattern of behavior, establishing that the juvenile had been sexually assaulted by Bishop on multiple occasions across both Texas and Louisiana jurisdictions.
Armed with physical and digital evidence, JCSO detectives established immediate probable cause and secured felony warrants on June 11. Knowing he was a wanted fugitive, Bishop returned to Texas and surrendered to jail personnel the following morning. He is formally charged with:
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Kidnapping (Third-Degree Felony)
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Sexual Assault of a Child (Second-Degree Felony)
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office issued a formal statement thanking the Port Allen Police Department for their rapid on-the-ground support and highly commended Investigator Cherry’s team for their "relentless efforts" to safely recover the minor.
