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Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Thomas Ebersole, 31, was arrested after authorities say the World of Warcraft game led to the discovery of a missing 16-year-old boy from Ohio at his Florida home.
CNN
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Authorities say they were able to locate a missing 16-year-old girl from Ohio in a Florida home with the help of the popular online video game “World of Warcraft.”
The FBI contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday and asked for help locating the boy, according to a Facebook post from the North Central Florida sheriff’s office.
Investigators discovered the boy’s account for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game “World of Warcraft” was active at his residence in Dunnellon, Florida, authorities said in a post. According to Techopedia, an MMORPG is a video game that takes place in a virtual environment called a persistent state world, where potentially millions of players can role-play, develop his character and interact together.
Dunnellon is located approximately 40 miles southwest of Ocala.
Authorities said the residence was the home address of Thomas Ebersole, 31, and his World of Warcraft account was also pinged from that location.
Ebersole initially denied knowing the 16-year-old girl, but later drove to Ohio to meet her and bring her back to Dunnellon, according to a post from the sheriff’s office. He is said to have admitted that.
Ebersole was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of traveling to meet a minor for sexual activity, interfering with the custody of a child and protecting an unmarried minor.
The suspect told authorities he was in a “romantic relationship” with the boy and that he was hiding her at his home in Dunnellon and intending to make her his wife, the sheriff’s office said.
“Detective Ebersole (Henrik) Ostedo provided Discord messages detailing a plan to meet the victim in Ohio and engage in sexual activity, knowing that he was committing a crime,” authorities said in a Facebook post. ” he said.
Mr. Ebersole was transported to the Marion County Jail and is being held without bail.
His next court date is February 6, but CNN is unable to determine whether he has been appointed or retained legal representation at this time.
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