Missing Ohio teen located in Florida after logging in to World of Warcraft account

GlitzyArmrest@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 414 points – Missing Ohio teen located in Florida after logging in to World of Warcraft account
seattletimes.com

Authorities say a missing Ohio teen was recovered in Florida after she logged in to an online video game at the home of the man who took her.

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As if playing WoW these days wasn't torture enough, they got kidnapped too

Dragonflight has been an amazing g expansion compared to the previous so two so it’s a little less torturous right now.

Indeed. And with things like SoD you have the choice now too.

I've been enjoying SoD a lot the past two months. Never got into classic before this and it's been a ton of fun.

First, I'm glad they found the kid. No one deserves to be manipulated and taken like that.

Second, dude, wtf? He's in his 30s and thinks that this is something he should do? The kid is literally half his age, and he seems to think that they're in any position for a genuine romantic relationship? Gross.

The bigger question is what was the drive like back to Florida. That's 14 hours and bathroom breaks

Male role models are had to come by and harshly spoken of as highly as the “successful” or “richest” ones are. Just look at Tater Tot’s if you really, in 2024, need a concrete example.

Blame it on some of the worlds addiction to insatiable consumption

Just look at Tater Tot’s

Not sure what this is really in reference to, but I defaulted to Napolean Dynamite.

I’m assuming the human trafficking ‘influencer’ Andrew Tate. Flaunted as a male life advice guru, showed money around, bragged about having expensive cars. But is now awaiting a human trafficking charge, because surprise, he’s a horrible human, and that’s what is a ‘role model’ to some people.

Ah that makes total sense. Yeah, I know who he is, I even booed him on a different post about the judgement regarding his property, but didn’t make the connection.

Sheltering an unmarried minor? tf?

Child marriage is legal in Afghanistan and many US states.

It’s not illegal if you marry your victim.

Yeah I know it’s legal in Ohio, and I’m pretty sure it’s legal in every state from here to Florida, including Florida.

Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, all allow 17-year-olds to marry, not really "children", and most limit it to marrying someone only a 2 or 4 years older and require judicial approval.

California, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Washington are the only states without a minimum marriage age, and Hawaii and Kansas are only states below 16 as the minimum. In any case, it also requires parental consent, judicial approval, and/or emancipation. Florida is one the most strict states in this regard.

https://lemm.ee/comment/8040027

Legal loophole basically according to this person

Specifically Florida Statue 984.085.

A person who is not an authorized agent of the Department of Juvenile Justice or the Department of Children and Families may not knowingly shelter an unmarried minor for more than 24 hours without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian or without notifying a law enforcement officer of the minor’s name and the fact that the minor is being provided shelter

Basically, if the police find a kid in your home, and it isn’t yours, you’re doing a crime. If you marry her tho…

Serious topic aside: Did he thought if he dresses like Waldo he can't be found?

So that's a jail outfit FYI.

Thanks, didn't know that.
As a punishment they refused them the nice caps.

I always suspected Waldo was a felon on the run. Or an old-timey pirate ship crewmate, Or a candy cane

Dude "faces felony charges of traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual activity and interfering with child custody, as well as a misdemeanor charge of sheltering an unmarried minor, according to jail records." And yet his bail is only $6k. WTF!

Bail is set at what would make it expensive/hurt for an individual to flee their court appearance.

It is not restitution or a fine. It is only to encourage you to show up at court.

So, given his finances, the judge probably ruled that 6k would be enough to enforce that.

Paywalled article.

Hmm, wasn't paywalled for me, but here you go:

DUNNELLON, Fla. (AP) — A missing Ohio teen was recovered in Florida after she logged in to an online video game at the home of the man who took her, authorities said.

Thomas Ebersole, 31, was arrested last Wednesday at his Dunnellon home, 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, had reported the girl missing on Dec. 28.

The FBI had contacted the sheriff’s office earlier that day to request help in locating the missing 16-year-girl. Investigators determined that her World of Warcraft account had been used at a local address, which turned out to be Ebersole’s home, authorities said. His World of Warcraft account was also accessed at the location. World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Investigators made contact with Ebersole at his home, and he initially denied knowing the girl, officials said. But he eventually admitted that he had driven to Ohio to meet the teen and brought her back to his home, authorities said. Ebersole also told investigators that he was in a romantic relationship with the girl and was going to hide her in his home until they could get married.

Ebersole provided detectives with online messages that further outlined his plans to meet the girl in Ohio and have sex with her, despite knowing that he was committing a crime, officials said.

Ebersole faces felony charges of traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual activity and interfering with child custody, as well as a misdemeanor charge of sheltering an unmarried minor, according to jail records. He was being held on $6,000 bail. Jail records didn’t list an attorney for Ebersole.

Hmm, wasn’t paywalled for me, but here you go:

Thank you for that.

Yeah, it was definitely one of the obnoxious ones too that covered up the whole screen, so I couldn't even read it in a half-sized view area.

Edit: I just went back and checked the link again, and it wasn't paywalled the second time, so something changed between the two viewing attempts. When I tried initially I got the paywall multiple times, even after opening/closing tabs.