Man accused of girl abduction appears in court

SALEM, Va. -- A February preliminary hearing is set for a man accused of abducting his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter and taking her to California.

Media outlets report that 32-year-old Jeffrey Easley appeared in Roanoke County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Salem on Friday for arraignment on an abduction charge.

Easley is charged with abducting 12-year-old Brittany Smith. The girl was with Easley when police arrested him last Friday outside a San Francisco supermarket.

The girl went missing after authorities found the body of her mother, Tina Smith, on Nov. 29. The death is considered a homicide but no charges have been filed. Easley had been the woman's live-in boyfriend.

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