UPDATE: LOCATED SAFE https://missingpeople.ca/us-news-missing-us-teen-ella-jones-found-at-home-of-west-michigan-sex-offender/
A mother in Washington is concerned that her 14-year-old daughter, who has been missing since early January, may have disappeared after contacting an adult man she met online.
Ella Jones of Mount Vernon, Wash., was reported missing by her mother, Sarah Merrill, on Jan. 6, according to a press release from the local police department. Merrill told authorities that Jones voluntarily left their home early that morning, or possibly the night prior, and likely took a large, green backpack of clothing with her.
Police said Jones has not contacted any family members or friends since her disappearance.
Though there is no mention of it in the police press release, Merrill told the Washington-based NBC affiliate, King5, that her daughter had been seen speaking in video calls to an adult male she met on social media.
Merrill said Jones met the unknown man on the now-defunct website Omegle, which shuttered in November. The platform — which was used to connect strangers in text and video chats — shut down after 14 years, citing claims of user abuse. The website has in recent years been referenced in over 50 pedophile-related court cases, according to the BBC.
Merrill said Jones wrote her a note before leaving the home, “saying she loved me and that she didn’t want to hurt us anymore.”
She also said she does not believe Jones’ vanishing is related to a mental health crisis.
“Something’s really wrong… I don’t think she can call me,” Merrill said. “She has never run away. We are very close. There was also not a fight.”
FULL STORY: https://globalnews.ca/news/10250785/ella-jones-missing-social-media-washington-teen/
