Police searching for Russell County man in case of missing 4-year-old girl

A 31-year-old man, who may be from the area of Russell County, Ala., is a suspect in the case of a missing 4-year-old girl who was last seen Saturday on Highway 98 North in Lakeland, Fla.

An Amber Alert was issued for Rebecca Lewis on Saturday, as law enforcement agencies across the Southeast searched for the girl, who was allegedly abducted by a 31-year-old man called West Hogs.

Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said the Polk County Sheriff’s Office contacted his department, as well as Alabama law enforcement officials, for help with the case. Taylor said West Hogs is an alias, but he didn’t have the suspect’s real name available at the time of an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer.

“We’re trying to find the potential suspect, maybe from our county, who we believe took the 4-year-old,” Taylor said. “Nobody knows where he is. But he didn’t take the 4-year-old from Russell County. The 4-year-old was taken from Florida. We’re just trying to help them find him.”

Taylor said he couldn’t comment further on the case because he didn’t know all the details, and he referred questions to Polk County, Fla., law enforcement officials. Calls made to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department by the Ledger-Enquirer on Sunday were not returned.

Law enforcement officials believe Hogs and Rebecca may be traveling in a silver 2012 Nissan Versa, with Alabama tag number 4JL26.

Rebecca is white with blonde hair, according to information provided by authorities. She’s about 3 feet tall and weighs about 30 pounds.

“She was last seen wearing a pair of blue shorts,” according to the Amber Alert. “West Hogs has a scar shaped like the letter ‘L’ on the left side of his head and a tattoo of a blue cross and another tattoo of a Chinese symbol.”

Law enforcement officials said anyone with information about the case should immediately call 911 or contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.

This story was originally published October 9, 2016 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Police searching for Russell County man in case of missing 4-year-old girl."