Alcala approached the girl at the beach in Huntington Beach, California, and asked her to pose for pictures, authorities said.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In a side pocket, a faded picture of two boys and a girl in braces, squinting on a beach.

NEWYORKER: Found Objects

No doubt the 12 Spanish tourists, and the Mexican girl accompanying them, had felt safe in their rented beach house too.

BBC: Mexican rapes: 'I wish I didn't know the details'