Simpson had checked Carlie out of school on May 4, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) spokesman Josh DeVine.
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Simpson – who, according to court records charging him with especially aggravated kidnapping, turned 58 on Friday – is now held in the Hawkins County Jail on $1 million bond.
Web Exclusive: Read TBI Director Mark Gwyn’s statement on Carlie’s safe return.
Roger Carpenter said he, Stewart Franklin, Larry “Hambone” Hamblen and Donnie Lawson had been searching for Carlie for the past three days.
When they spotted Simpson, one of them held him at gunpoint while the other called 911.
Simpson and Trent were found on private property off of Highway 70 North in the Clinch Valley area, near the Hancock County line, on a road that was in a remote area. Officials have reported Thursday, May 12, 2016, that Simpson has been arrested in connection with the abduction of his niece, Carlie Marie Trent, 9, of Rogersville, Tenn.
Simpson had signed Trent out of school under the false pretense that her father had been harmed in “a serious vehicle wreck”, according to the New York Daily News.
“There’s a lot of abandoned cabins in the area and it’s a lot of, you know wilderness in here”, he said, describing the area where the discovery was made.
Simpson is being held without bond. Gwyn said Simpson will be charged to the fullest extent of the law.
Carpenter told InsideEdition.com Thursday night, “We’ve been in the woods every day, searching”.
Carlie told Local 8 News, “Well, I mostly like playing on my trampoline, playing basketball, and I like looking around the yard and like.and finding stuff interesting”.
“But suffice it to say, we have specific and credible information that leads us to believe she’s in danger right now”, he said.
Gale Trent, Carlie’s uncle, said he never thought Simpson “would take off with the girl”.
Police issued an Amber Alert in April of previous year when her daughter’s dad, who did not have custody of the little girl, abducted her. In Hawkins County, community members organized several searches to comb through the rural areas.
Earlier Thursday, the TBI had added Simpson, 57, to its Top 10 Most Wanted list and warned that Carlie was in imminent danger.
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A member of Carlie’s family said she’s being taken to a hospital as a precaution and that everyone is happy she’s safe.
