Tennessee authorities said a teen girl who disappeared for over two weeks reached out to the St. Louis, Missouri, FBI while she was missing. She was found in Wisconsin on Thursday, at the home of a man facing abduction charges.
ABC 6 reports that an FBI tip helped authorities find the girl in Madison, Wisconsin, at the home of 31-year-old Bryan David Rogers, who lives with his mom. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office arrested Rogers and charged him with child abduction after he allegedly drove from Wisconsin to Tennessee to pick the girl up.
It’s still unclear why the teen specifically reached out to the FBI in St. Louis.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the girl’s adoptive father, 41-year-old Randall Pruitt, was arrested Thursday and charged with rape after authorities said they found “explicit photos and a video” on the teen girl’s online footprints. His first court hearing is scheduled for February 5.
According to the arrest affidavit, Monroe County investigators obtained a search warrant for the girl’s email and online records. They found multiple photos and a video of Pruitt having sex with the girl, which had been sent to another person.
Since the girl is the alleged victim of a sexual assault, CrimeOnline is withholding her name.
During a press conference last week, Jones said the girl likely wanted to get away from a “bad home life.”
The teen disappeared from her Madisonville home on January 13. Investigators located her the same day Pruitt was arrested. Authorities took a flight to Wisconsin on Friday and brought the girl back to Tennessee. She’s said to be safe and healthy, but she is not with family at this time.
“She is safe, she is in custody so that’s a very good ending to this,” MCSO officials said. “She’s doing fine.”
Prior to finding her, police said one the girl’s two cellphones pinged in Corbin, Kentucky. Corbin is around 130 miles from Madisonville.
The girl is the eldest of four children. Pruitt indicated last week that she was homeschooled, while the other three children attended public school. The family recently moved to Madisonville from Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Due to the integrity of the investigation, authorities can only provide limited information at this time.
“I’m having to be vague in all my statements because this is still an ongoing investigation,” Monroe County Sheriff, Tommy Jones, said “There’s the possibility of multiple other charges coming forward with multiple people involved. And truthfully that’s about all we can say at this time.”
Pruitt, who appeared on several news outlets pleading for the girl’s safe return, remains at the Monroe County jail without bail.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Bryan Rogers, Randall Pruitt/Police Handout]
