Florida Sheriff's Deputy Finds Missing 13-Year-Old at Motel With Older Man She Met Online

A Volusia Sheriff’s Department deputy rescued a 13-year-old girl from a motel in Edgewater, Florida, on February 18. She was picked up after school by a man she met online, the department said.

The sheriff said clues gathered from the girl’s friends and security camera footage from businesses near her school led Deputy Royce James to search local motels until he found the child and a man identified as Tyler Thompson, 22. The girl was found unharmed and taken for evaluation before being returned to her family, the department said.

“When Deputy Royce James entered the doorway of the room at the All Suite Motel … the girl ran into his arms and gave him a hug,” the department said.

Thompson has been charged with “interference with child custody” and “traveling to meet after using a computer to lure a child,” and was released from jail on February 19 on $15,000 bond. Credit: Volusia Sheriff via Storyful