On Wednesday, July 31, the parents of a 17-year-old female, who was abusing opiates, enrolled her into a local Santa Clarita Valley area rehabilitation program for drug addiction. By Thursday, Aug. 1, the teenager ran away from the facility. She was reported missing to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and the mother began her own search for her daughter fearing she would use narcotics again, and possibly overdose.

In the following days, Sheriff’s Deputies along with the girl’s mother continued their search for the missing 17-year-old female. During her search, the girl’s mother contacted Christopher Guthrie, an 18-year-old male from the Saugus area. Christopher Guthrie was known to the girl’s mother as her daughter’s boyfriend. Christopher reportedly said that he had not seen or talked to the missing teenager since she had gone to the rehabilitation center.

On Saturday, August 3rd 2013, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Deputies received other information that the missing teenager was inside of Christopher Guthrie’s home. Deputies responded to Christopher’s residence in Saugus and discovered the missing 17-year-old inside a bathroom, under the influence of narcotics. The teenager was taken from the location and detained at Sylmar Juvenile Hall.

With the assistance of the missing girl’s mother, deputies discovered that the teenager had been staying with Christopher at his home for a number of days. Earlier, when the mother had come to the house looking for her missing daughter, Christopher allegedly lied by denying having contact with the teenager and saying that she wasn’t there.

This investigation was turned over to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station J-Team (Juvenile Intervention Team) for further follow-up. As the investigation continued, members of the J-Team formed the opinion that Christopher knowingly kept the missing 17-year-old away from her mother, and allowed her to stay in his home knowing that she was using narcotics. J-Team detectives presented this case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and an arrest warrant was issued for Christopher Guthrie for charges relating to child concealment (278 PC), maintaining a place for the purpose of using a controlled substance (11366 HS), and contributing to the delinquency of a minor (272(a)(1) PC).

On Wednesday, September 4th 2013, deputies assigned to the J-Team located Christopher Guthrie at his residence. Christopher was arrested for the outstanding arrest warrant and was additionally charged with possession of a controlled substance which was recovered at the time of the arrest.

Christopher Guthrie is currently being held on $80,000 bail at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. He is expected to appear in North Valley Superior Court on September 6, 2013.

At the recent Heroin Kills event, sponsored by the city of Santa Clarita, it was made clear that involved parents make a difference in the battle against drugs.

As to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station involvement, Captain Becker stated, “It is our goal to use all available resources to keep drugs out of the hands of our young people including hard hitting enforcement, direct sustainable intervention, comprehensive relevant education and rehabilitation programs, along with direct involvement of community members and leaders up to and including our drug crime tip program.”

Deputies have learned that thanks to the persistent involvement of her parents, the 17-year-old girl has just completed a 30-day rehabilitation program and is doing well.

No further information is available at this time.

The battle against heroin use and addiction does not have to be fought alone. Several resources, from counseling to recovery, are available right here in the Santa Clarita Valley. Visit http://heroinkills.org.