31-year-old Florida man Thomas Ebersole, who allegedly traveled from Florida to Ohio to bring back a 16-year-old girl with the intention of marrying her has been arrested.
Ebersole was taken into custody after investigators located the missing teen at his house in Dunnellon, Florida. The breakthrough in the case came when authorities discovered that the teen had logged into her ‘World of Warcraft’ account from Ebersole’s address. This information was corroborated by the simultaneous login of Ebersole’s own gaming account from the same location.
The investigation was initiated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office following a tip from the FBI about the missing Ohio girl.
When confronted by authorities Ebersole initially denied knowing the girl but later admitted to driving more than 10 hours to Ohio to bring her back to his home. He planned to hide her and eventually marry her.
Ebersole claimed to be in a romantic relationship with the girl and provided text messages between them as evidence, however the messages outlined his plans to meet the victim in Ohio and have sex with her, though he knew it would lead to criminal charges.
Ebersole was charged with traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual activity, interfering with child custody and sheltering an unmarried minor. He is currently on remand in Marion County jail without bond.
