DNA links Florida man in Philippines to 1989 child abduction

A man accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl in Florida in 1989 was recently arrested in the Philippines, according to authorities.

Preserved DNA and genealogical research allowed investigators to identify Young Tom Talmadge, 69, as the suspect in the Tampa-area case, the Philippines’ government said in a statement.

The technique purportedly leading to Talmadge’s arrest has for years been gaining prominence among law enforcement officials seeking to make arrests in decades-old cases which had not initially led to the naming of any suspects.

As Tampa’s WTVT first reported, the crime to which Talmadge is now linked began with a man approaching a 7-year-old girl inside a bowling alley, giving her coins to play arcade games and then coaxing her to his car. He then inflicted a sexual battery on her before taking her to a second bowling alley and leaving her there.

Customers and employees of the first bowling alley – the now-shuttered Tampa Lanes – mounted a desperate search for the abducted girl, WTVT noted. A man at the second bowling alley ultimately recognized the girl as the one who was missing and helped end the search.

The alleged abductor and abuser remained unidentified for more than 35 years. But in March 2025, the Hillsborough county sheriff’s office obtained a warrant to arrest Talmadge, who drew scrutiny because of the combination of DNA evidence left behind during the kidnapping and assault, as well as genealogical research.

Officials subsequently determined Talmadge was living in the Philippines community of Cavite, more than 9,000 miles away from Tampa. Filipino immigration agents said they apprehended Talmadge at his home there on 23 April.

It was not immediately clear when Talmadge may be transferred to the US. He faces charges of sexual battery by an adult on a victim younger than age 12, lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and kidnapping to commit a felony on a child.