Pedophile charged with murdering girl, eight, and dumping her body in a church less than ONE HOUR after mom let him take her for burgers after he struck up a friendship with them at a dollar store

Charish Perriwinkle, 8, was out with her mom and two siblings on a late night Friday shopping trip

Florida sex offender, Donald Smith, 56, spoke with family and offered to take the girl for a burger

Smith abducted Charish and a police search began within minutes of her disappearance

Child's body was found at local church early Saturday morning

Smith is now back in custody, caught by police as he was fleeing onto the interstate

A registered sex offender, released from jail less than a month ago, has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of an 8-year-old Florida girl abducted while shopping with her mother on Friday night.



The body of Charish Perriwinkle was found in front of Highlands Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday morning after a frantic search .



Donald James Smith of Jacksonville was taken into custody after police cornered his white van on Interstate 95. He had only been released from jail on May 31 after serving 438 days on felony charges of child abuse and unlawful impersonation of a public employee.

The body of Cherish Perrywinkle was found in front of Highlands Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday morning after a frantic search

Donald Smith has been arrested and charged with the abduction and murder of 8-year-old Florida girl Cherish Perrywinkle

Authorities had put out an Amber Alert with details of Smith's van early Saturday, hours after receiving a 911 call from Charish Perriwinkle's mother about the missing girl.



Prior to the alleged abduction Friday night, Smith, 56, befriended Charish and her mother at a dollar store, and ‘offered to take them to Wal-Mart and buy her family some clothes,’ said Mike Williams, director of investigations at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.



‘They appeared to be down on their luck and he could help them out.’

After spending a couple hours inside the Wal-Mart together, Smith offered to buy hamburgers and walked with Charish to the front of the store, Williams said.

Charish's mom agreed to let her go with the man she had only just met whilst she took care of her other two children and continued browsing the shelves.

Instead of stopping to buy the snack, Smith walked Charish outside and the two of them got into his van, Williams said.

Kidnapped then murdered: 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle was taken from a Jacksonville WalMart store last night by a sex offender. Less than an hour after she had gone missing her body was found in a nearby church

Shopping trip: Cherish was with her mother and two siblings at this WalMart store in Jacksonville when Donald Smith befriended her and asked if she wanted to walk with him to McDonalds

Looking for a victim: Donald Smith, 56, had only been released from jail three weeks ago. He befriended the child's mother in a dollar store and was captured on CCTV leaving Walmart with the girl

The girl's mother called 911 when she realized Charish and Smith were missing.



Less than an hour later, Charish was dead.

'We located the body of Charish Perriwinkle,' Officer Shannon Hartley said holding back tears. 'It's a very difficult time, obviously, for everyone involved.'

'Hug your children closely right now and know where they're at,' Officer Hartley said. 'Keep them close.'

Detectives say that within 30 minutes of Charish's mom realizing she had left the store with the man, police were called.

An Amber Alert was issued and police searched the area with helicopters and ground units but did not find the suspect or the girl.



A tip about a suspicious van spotted in the woods near a church led investigators to Charish's body Saturday morning.



Meanwhile, an officer working at the scene of a traffic crash on Interstate 95 on Saturday morning recognized Smith's van as it drove past her and called it in.

An officer working at the scene of a traffic crash on Interstate 95 on Saturday morning recognized Smith's van as it drove past her and called it in

Found: Cherish Lilly Perrywinkle's body was found early this morning at Highlands Church in Jacksonville, Florida

The highway was shut down while other officers pulled Smith over and arrested him. He has not cooperated with investigators, Williams said, and it was not immediately known whether he had an attorney.



Williams declined to answer reporters' questions about how Charish died or what Smith did in the hours between his disappearance with the girl and his arrest, saying that the investigation remains open.



Smith has been a registered sex offender since a 1993 conviction in Duval County for attempted kidnapping and selling obscene materials.



Previous arrests that date as far back as 1977 when Department of Corrections records show he was convicted of indecent assault on a child under the age of 16.



Prison records also show that Smith went to prison again in 1992 for attempted kidnapping. Court documents show he was convicted of that charge in addition to two counts of showing obscene material to a minor.

Police gather at the Highlands Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday, June 22, 2013 where the body of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle was found

Getaway vehicle: Smith was reportedly driving a 1998 white Dodge van

In 2003 prisons records show Smith served time for trafficking in stolen property and giving false information to a pawnbroker.



She was also arrested in 2009 on a charge of child abuse after making obscene phone calls to a 10-year-old girl, making verbal threats, and impersonating a social worker with the Florida Department of Children and Families who claimed to be investigating the girl's family.



Smith pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in that case in 2012 and was released from jail on May 31 this year.



Williams said Smith had just met with police Friday morning to comply with a state law that requires sex offenders to verify their address once a year.



Smith is set to appear in court at 9 a.m. Sunday morning.



Smith has been a registered sex offender since a 1993 conviction for attempted kidnapping and selling obscene materials