Missing teenage girl found with sex offender, 30, thousands of miles from home

03 February 2024 , 12:54

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Ella Jones was found in the company of a sex offender 2,000 miles from home (Image: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

A missing teenager has been found thousands of miles away from home on the other side of the US in the company of a registered sex offender.

Ella Jones, 14, had been missing for a month when she was found safely in Michigan on Thursday, after she was last seen on January 5. The Mount Vernon Police Department confirmed a suspected was tracked and identified only by the name "Keith". It is believed the teenager may have left her home in a ride-share vehicle, which prompted investigations into the ride-share service history in the area.

Police say there is probable cause to charge Keith Freeksen with second-degree kidnapping as he transported Jones across state lines. Jones' family is "elated" to hear their daughter has been found safe.

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Police are currently working through the potential charges against Keith Freeksen (Van Buren County Sheriff's Office)

Freeksen is facing charges of first-degree criminal sexual assault, failure to register as a sex offender and contributing to delinquency with children. Those charges, according to authorities, were presented in Michigan state. A police report later confirmed Ella had been successfully located after a tip-off sent to officers on January 30.

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Their report read: "Investigators learned the missing juvenile had potentially used a ride-share service. Mount Vernon has limited ride-share options, so investigators were able to locate a particular ride that Ella might have taken. Investigators were able to then identify the subject 'Keith' who ordered that ride share for her and his address in South Haven, Michigan.

"Based on the totality of the evidence collected and the potential that the juvenile had travelled multi-states, it supported probable cause for Kidnapping 2nd Degree." The report further confirmed the charges aired in Michigan, with operatives now working on coordinating the series of crimes. Mount Vermont police confirmed the investigation is "continuing" as they gather more information, CBS News reported.

caption: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is reaching out to the public for assistance in finding a teenage girl from Mount Vernon who has been missing for two weeks. Ella Jones, 14, was last seen in her room by her mother on the night of Jan. 5. The following morning, she, reportedly couldn’t be found. A complaint was registered with the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

Ella was located nearly 2,000 miles from her home after nearly a month. Lieutenant Dave Shackleton, of the Mount Vernon Police Department, added: "Locating {her} safely is directly attributed to the family, friends and many who showed concern and compassion for her well-being. It's also directly attributed to our Federal, State, and Local Law enforcement partners who helped when investigative leaders went beyond our jurisdictional boundaries or abilities."

Ella's mum, Sarah Merrill, last saw her daughter in her bedroom on the night of January 5. But the next morning, she awoke to find her daughter was nowhere to be found.

On the night she disappeared, Ella had written her mum a cryptic message, seeming to allude to a relationship she was said to have with an older man. Sarah said: "She wrote a note saying she loved me and that she didn't want to hurt us anymore."

(National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

Ella's friends had told her mum the teen had been speaking to a man in his late 20s or early 30s online. Sarah said her daughter appeared to have met an adult man on the chatroom site Omegle, which rose in popularity among teens during the pandemic before shutting down in November.

But as she spoke to Ella's friends, she said she "didn't fully realize the gravity" of her daughter's interactions with the man online. Adding: "You always have something kind of going on with teenagers to some extent. But, I mean, she's [a] really sweet, good-natured kid.

"So the longer it went, the more the kids started opening up about [the online relationship]... One friend had said that she really trusted him. And they're all pretty confident that's where they think she is."

It has not been confirmed whether the man Ella was found with was the same one she had reportedly been communicating with online and building a relationship with.

Ewan Gleadow