Posted on Thu, Dec. 17, 2009

A bench warrant has been issued for a 24-year-old transient who allegedly took two Paso Robles teens out of the state, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Edmund Lamb was due in court today to be sentenced, but he didn’t report to a scheduled interview with the county Probation Department or appear for his hearing. He has been charged with two counts of felony child abduction, police said.

Lamb's lawyer, Jay Peterson, said he may have been visiting a sick relative in Mississippi, which could be why he didn’t show up.

The girls, who police say are 17 years old and won’t be identified because they are minors, were reunited with their parents in late September after being detained in Utah with Lamb, whom police describe as an acquaintance of the teenagers.

Paso Robles police began investigating the case Sept. 14, when the parents of the two juveniles reported them missing, police said.

Officers discovered both girls had left the state with Lamb and that they were traveling east on Interstate 80 through Nevada. A Utah Highway Patrol trooper detained the three Sept. 16, police said.

The bench warrant has been issued in the amount of $50,000, which is the amount his bail would be if Lamb is captured and booked again in County Jail, according to the District Attorney’s Office.