The teenager called her parents Saturday night from this Red Deer mall. (CBC)

A 56-year-old man is facing charges of kidnapping and sexual assault after a 16-year-old central Alberta girl disappeared for two days before turning up at a mall, telling family she had escaped from her captor.

RCMP held a news conference Sunday in Red Deer, Alta., to announce that they had arrested a local man and seized his vehicle.

The girl's mother, who can't be named to protect the identity of her daughter, told reporters she was relieved her daughter is home.

"I've never been so glad to see anybody in my life. She's coping. She's a very strong girl. She's got her friends and her family around her, and she's doing amazingly well for someone who's been through what she's been through."

The mother also thanked the community for their help, saying "we're just so grateful."

Police said the girl suffered some unspecified injuries, but is holding up well under the circumstances.

The man's name will not be released until he's formally charged, which an RCMP spokesperson said would likely happen by Monday.

The teenager had last been seen Thursday night making some purchases at a store in Penhold, just south of Red Deer. Relatives said she drove there from her nearby home wearing pyjamas and a coat.

Twenty minutes later her family found her truck parked in front of their home with the keys inside and the lights on. Her purse and the items she bought at the store were in the truck, but her wallet and cellphone were gone.

Police and volunteers combed the area Saturday and a few hours before she was located, about 200 people attended a candlelight vigil where many prayed for her safe return.

With files from CBC News