[ad_1]
DUNNELLON, Fla. (AP) – A missing Ohio teen was found in Florida after logging into an online video…
DUNNELLON, Fla. (AP) – A missing Ohio teen was found in Florida after logging into an online video game at the home of the man who took her, authorities said.
Thomas Ebersole, 31, was arrested last Wednesday at his home in Dunnellon, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The area is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Tampa. Police in Lima, Ohio, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Columbus, reported the girl missing on December 28.
The FBI had contacted the sheriff’s office earlier in the day, asking for help finding the missing 16-year-old girl. Investigators determined that her World of Warcraft account was being used at a local address, which turned out to be Eversole’s home, authorities said. His girlfriend’s World of Warcraft account was also accessed from that location. World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
Investigators contacted Eversole at his home, where he initially denied knowing the girl, officials said. But authorities said the man eventually admitted to driving to Ohio to meet the boy and taking her back to his girlfriend’s home. Ebersole also told investigators that he was in a romantic relationship with the girl and intended to hide her in his home until she was married.
Officials said Ebersole provided detectives with online messages detailing his plan to meet and have a sexual relationship with the girl in Ohio, knowing he was committing a crime.
According to jail records, Ebersole was charged with felonies of traveling to meet and engage in sexual activity with a minor and interfering with the custody of a child, as well as a misdemeanor count of custody of an unmarried minor. ing. He was being held on $6,000 bail. Jail records did not list an attorney for Eversole.
Copyright © 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link
