A 15-year-old male from Adams Township who was reported missing Saturday and ended up in Missouri returned home Monday with his parents, officials said.
The boy ran away from home with $150,000 worth of silver coins and two individuals he had been talking with online, according to Richard Goldinger, county district attorney.
On Monday, those accused of transporting the juvenile were identified as Nicholas Padgett, of Springdale, Ark., and Nathaniel Archer, of Bentonville, Ark. They were arrested and are awaiting extradition to Butler County.
Adams Township police said they will be charged with interference with the custody of children, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal use of a communication facility.
The teen had been chatting online with the two men and left a note for his parents Friday night saying he was running away, according to Goldinger.
Adams Township police said they began investigating the incident immediately. They requested the assistance of Pittsburgh FBI agents when they believed the juvenile was transported out of state.
In a statement from Shawn Anglum, chief of Adams Township police, a suspect vehicle was identified.
“We began efforts to track and locate the suspect vehicle, which was from the Springdale, Ark., area,” he said.
The boy was located at an Econo Lodge in St. Robert, Mo., after being left there by the suspects. Goldinger said the boy had second thoughts about running away and called 911.
The suspects let him go, but kept the silver coins, Goldinger said.
Bentonville police and FBI task force agents located and arrested Padgett and Archer on Monday, Anglum said.
“We believe that all the stolen silver coins also were recovered,” he said.
Goldinger said the boy began the journey home Monday.
In his statement, Anglum cautioned parents to be aware of their children’s social media activity. He said Facebook, Snapchat and Discord all were used during the incident.
“Fortunately, this incident ended peacefully with the juvenile returning home safely,” he said.
Anglum also thanked several law enforcement agencies that assisted in the case, including Cranberry Township police, FBI Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State Police Crime Information Center, FBI Arkansas Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and police in Bentonville and St. Robert.
