• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
World of Warcraft account led to missing teen being found in home of man who abducted her

Home> News> US News

Published 10:47 5 Jan 2024 GMT

World of Warcraft account led to missing teen being found in home of man who abducted her

The Florida man initially claimed he did not know the teenager

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

A missing teenager's World of Warcraft account turned out to be the key police needed to locate her after she was abducted from a different state.

Investigators began their search for the 16-year-old girl, whose name has not been released, after she disappeared from her home state of Ohio.

On Wednesday (3 January), Major Crimes Detective Henrik Osthed, of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, became involved in the case after he received a request from a special agent in the FBI asking him to aid them in the investigation.

Investigators noticed that the teenager's Wold of Warcraft account had been accessed from a property on Shorewood Drive, in Dunnellon, which was determined to belong to a 31-year-old man named Thomas Ebersole.

Advert

Ebersole's own World of Warcraft account had also been accessed at the home on the same day, prompting law enforcement to make contact with the homeowner.

A statement from Marion County Sheriff's Office explained that Ebersole initially denied knowing the victim when he first spoke to police.

Thomas Ebersole first messaged the teenager online.
Marion County Sheriff's Office

However, he went on to admit that he had driven to Ohio to meet the teenager, after which he brought her back to his home in Florida.

Advert

Ebersole told police he was in a romantic relationship with the teenager, and that he planned to hide her at his home as he carried out plans to marry her.

Ebersole provided police with messages sent on the internet-based messaging site Discord, which further outlined his plans to meet the teenager and engage in sexual activity with her, despite knowing he was committing a crime due to her being underage.

In an arrest affidavit obtained by HuffPost, deputies stated they observed three bruises on Ebersole's neck, which he claimed where 'hickies' given to him by the teenager.

Police tracked the teen thanks to her World of Warcraft account.
Blizzard

Advert

The 16-year-old is said to have confirmed Ebersole's claims about the bruises, prompting deputies to report that the 'overtly sexual' act was 'not normal behaviour' between an adult and a child.

Messages from Discord cited in the court document also revealed that Ebersole and the teen had referred to each other by pet names and made romantic statements.

Following Ebersole's confession, police arrested the 31-year-old and transported him to the Marion County Jail, where he remained without bond as of Thursday (4 January).

Osthed charged Ebersole with Traveling to Meet a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity, Interfering with Child Custody, and Sheltering an Unmarried Minor.

Featured Image Credit: NIGEL TREBLIN/DDP/AFP via Getty Images/ Marion County Police Department

Topics: Crime, US News, Gaming

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
9 hours ago
10 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    'Wild' way Travis Kelce first asked out Taylor Swift as pair announce engagement

    The singer recently recalled her now-fiancé Travis Kelce's 'wild, romantic gesture'

    Celebrity
  • 9 hours ago

    ‘English teacher’ and ‘gym teacher’ explained as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announce engagement

    Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged to be married!

    Celebrity
  • 10 hours ago

    Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announce they are engaged in touching post

    After plenty of speculation and anticipation, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift confirmed their engagement in a post on Instagram

    Celebrity
  • 10 hours ago

    Terrifying map reveals where drinking water is most polluted by ‘forever chemicals’ in the US

    Have you ever stopped to wonder how clean the water you're drinking is?

    News
  • Missing US woman 'found' alive thousands of miles away and living a totally different life
  • How abducted boy, 7, who appeared on Netflix's Unsolved Mysterious, was found seven years after disappearing
  • Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter discusses visiting dad in prison after he was found guilty of drugging and raping her mom
  • Missing girl, 15, found alive six weeks after disappearance 500 miles away from home