A man accused of abducting his teenage stepdaughter and her infant child is now facing charges of sexual abuse. Margel Tenney was arraigned in Lewis County Magistrate Court Wed. morning shortly after his arrest.
Tenney faces two counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, or custodian. He appeared before Senior Status Magistrate Frances Davis. His bond is set at $100,000 and he’s lodged in the Central Regional Jail in Flatwoods.
Tenney was arrested by State Police on I-79 southbound near the Jane Lew exit Tuesday morning. His arrest followed the issuance of an Amber Alert after 16-year old Shaina Tenney and her 7-month old daughter Grace Tenney were abducted from a home at Rock Cave in Upshur County Tuesday night.
The Amber Alert included the vehicle Tenney was driving, a 2003 beige Ford Taurus. A trooper on his way to Charleston came upon the vehicle, driving unusually slow on I-79. He checked the plates and found out they were registered to Tenney–but for a different vehicle. Tenney had apparently switched plates in an effort to avoid detection. Other troopers converged for backup and Tenney was pulled over. He surrendered without incident.
The teenage Tenney and the child were uninjured.