Missing 17-year-old believed to have been groomed is discovered safe, Michigan cops say
UPDATE: Ea Kuhr, a 17-year-old who went missing on Wednesday, Feb. 1, was discovered safe, Michigan authorities say.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office said Dexter High School student Ea Kuhr was located by the FBI on Thursday. Deputies did not provide additional information.
“Thank you to the FBI, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department and to everyone who helped locate the student’s whereabouts,” Dexter Community Schools Superintendent Christopher Timmis said in a statement obtained by The Sun Times News. “Please give your children a big hug tonight.”
The original story is below.
Authorities in Michigan are searching for a high schooler who is believed to have been lured away by an internet groomer.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office said family members went to pick up Ea Kuhr at Dexter High School on Wednesday, Feb. 1, but the 17-year-old “intentionally avoided them and left to meet an unknown subject.”
“Information obtained during the early stages of our investigation shows a pattern of social media/internet grooming and an organized attempt to lure Ea away from family,” the sheriff’s office said. “At this time it is believed Ea left of their own free will.”
Ea was last seen wearing light gray sweatpants, a dark hooded sweatshirt, white tennis shoes and carrying a gray backpack, according to the sheriff.
The high school’s property and cameras have been searched, Dexter Superintendent Chris Timmis said, according to MLive.com.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 734-994-2911.
Dexter High School is in Dexter, about 50 miles west of Detroit.
Grooming can occur on any online site that allows users to communicate with others, according to Innocent Lives Foundation.
“Grooming is when an adult forges a relationship with a child by filling a need in their life or take advantage of a child’s vulnerabilities,” the foundation said. “This is a process that can occur over a period of time to ultimately exploit children through sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or trafficking.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Missing 17-year-old believed to have been groomed is discovered safe, Michigan cops say."