CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An illegal immigrant is accused of plotting to kidnap two Cornelius girls from a bus stop.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested Ruben Garcia-Rosario, 25, on Tuesday. He’s charged with two counts of first-degree attempted kidnapping, felony conspiracy, carrying a concealed weapon and driving without an operator’s license.

The investigation began more than a week ago when the parents of two elementary-age girls reported to Cornelius police that the girls saw a man taking pictures at their school bus stop on a quiet lakeside street.

“I can't commend the children enough for the fact that they pointed out the individual and said, ‘This guy's here and we don't think he should be here,’” said Howard Tefft, a friend of the family.

Then on Tuesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were called when a foreign language translator was asked to translate a ransom note from Spanish into English.

Detectives said they quickly identified the man making the request as Garcia-Rosario. They said that after contacting Cornelius police, they discovered Garcia-Rosario matched the description of the man taking the pictures at the bus stop.

They said they soon had enough evidence to charge him with two counts of attempted kidnapping.

Tefft said his friends can’t express their relief enough.

“They're very thankful to Cornelius and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police departments on behalf of their children and children everywhere,” he said. "It's a parent's worst nightmare having someone planning on taking your children away from you."

CMPD investigators said Garcia-Rosario was planning to kidnap the sisters and hold them for a six-figure ransom, which he planned to use to go back to Mexico. Police said he has been deported from the United States previously.

They said he was on a crew that painted the family’s house, which is how he knew about the children.

Garcia-Rosario, who lives on Countryside Drive in northeast Charlotte, is being held on $52,000 bond.

His estranged wife, who lives in Texas, is also charged in the alleged kidnapping plot.