A 12-year-old reported missing from North Carolina was discovered with a registered sex offender following a crash in Hocking County.
Deputies responded Sunday morning to a single-vehicle crash along U.S. 33. Authorities identified the driver as Virgil E. Larson Jr., 45, a registered sex offender from Fairfield County.
A 12-year-old girl, reported missing from her North Carolina home the night before, was found riding as a passenger in the vehicle, according to the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said Larson allegedly lured the child by posing as someone her age on social media and told her his father would pick her up because he was a minor.
Deputies reached out to the girl’s parents in Stokes County, North Carolina, who confirmed she had been reported missing.
Both Larson and the girl were taken to a hospital with injuries. Authorities later transported Larson to jail, where he faces charges of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree resisting arrest. According to online court records, officials set his bond at $1 million.
A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday in Hocking County Municipal Court.
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