"Teen Girl" BALLARD - 16 yo - Glenville (N of Schenectady) NY

A Glenville dad says he feels betrayed by a man he called his best friend after discovering the man allegedly helped his 16-year old daughter run away.While the girl was missing, the friend, 36-year old John "JJ" Kwiatkowski of Amsterdam, even pretended to search for the girl, all the while knowing where she was. No one ever suspected that Kwiatkowski had anything to do with the teen's disappearance.Not to mention that he allegedly had her holed up at his sister's home for four days.NEWS10's Anya Tucker spoke to the girl's father, Robert Ballard, exclusively. While police may think his daughter ran away of her own accord, he believes she was manipulated.Anya Tucker asked Ballard about Kwiatkowski."You cried on his shoulder?"Ballard responded, "Yes. And he cried right back. That's the deranged part of it."Deranged, Ballard said, that his best friend, known as JJ, allegedly tried to run off with his 16-year old daughter.According to Ballard, Kwiatkowski was grooming the girl for months while teaching her to drive."That night I actually put an end to it," Ballard said, "and the next day she was gone."From October 15 to 18, Ballard, his wife, friends and family searched for the girl. Joining them was JJ Kwiatkowski, who even handed out fliers. But it was while out on what would be their last search that Ballard received a shocking call."The police called me and said, ‘You don't want to know where she was. She was with your friend (Kwiatkowski's) -- his sister.' I had (Kwiatkowski) in the car with me."When asked how he kept his composure, Ballard said, "I kept telling myself, ‘I am not going to throw my life away on him.""I have other children and it was not easy."Ballard then did what most parents might not be able to do; he actually drove Kwiatkowski home. Ballard says he did it to let the law handle things."I ain't going to lie," Ballard told Anya Tucker. "I had many, many emotions. I learned he had been giving her money, buying her clothing, and when we finally did meet up with our daughter, all of a sudden she's a bleached blonde, because he and his sister bleached her hair with Clorox to the point where they put scabs on top of her head. And she's still healing from that right now. My feeling is he should be arrested for kidnapping. That is my personal feeling."Ballard says his daughter is still in shock and that they are still trying to find out what may have happened during the days she was gone.Glenville police do not believe Kwiatkowski and Ballard's daughter had a sexual relationship, so he is just facing a misdemeanor charge for obstructing their investigation.But Ballard says he knows better.