Hailey Buzbee, Fishers, Indiana teen found dead after meeting Tyler Thomas, Columbus, Ohio online and luring her to runaway. Indecent video found on man’s electronic devices. Suspect anticipated to be charged with murder and kidnapping.
The body of a missing Fishers, Indiana teenage girl who was lured away from her family home by a 39-year-old man she met online was recovered in Perry County, Ohio over the weekend.
Hailey Buzbee, 17, hailing from Vermillion, had been reported missing by her parents on Jan. 6. A police investigation linked 39-year-old Columbus, Ohio man, Tyler Thomas to the teen’s disappearance, after allegedly being kidnapped by the man.
Thomas who led authorities to the where he had ‘dumped’ the missing girl’s body had yet to be charged in connection with the teen’s death or any kidnapping offenses following the discovery of her body, Sunday night. Homicide possibly murder charges are anticipated in the case, IndyStar reported.
Fishers, Indiana teen met would be kidnapper online
At the time of her disappearance, Buzbee was a student at Hamilton Southeastern High School and was in her junior year. In addition to earning good grades in school, she worked part-time as a server at a local restaurant, the missing teen’s parents previously told Dateline.
A January 20 press release from the Fishers Police Department led to authorities saying they considered the missing teen an ‘endangered missing juvenile,’ who had ‘run away from home,’ on January 5, just on 10 p.m, that night.
Police identified an unknown vehicle in Buzbee’s neighborhood the night she disappeared, leading them to Thomas in Columbus. Law enforcement said Thomas admitted to picking up Buzbee but claimed he later dropped her off on the side of the road—an account investigators say was contradicted by evidence.
Investigators said Buzbee and Thomas met through online gaming. Further evidence led to investigators saying that Thomas and Buzbee had recently stayed at a rental property just days after the girl going missing.
Incriminating evidence found on suspect’s electronic devices
Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart said evidence and statements made by Thomas led authorities to believe Buzbee was deceased. ‘Because of evidence obtained and the statements made by the suspect, the investigation has now moved to recovery efforts,’ Gebhart said during a Sunday press conference, just hours before her body was found.
Court records state that a search warrant executed Jan. 21 at a residence on Hunter Avenue in Columbus’ Victorian Village uncovered child s*xual abuse material on Thomas’ digital devices. The material included images and a video of Buzbee found in deleted cache files.
A search of Thomas’ phone included sexually oriented videos and photos of Buzbee, some of which he attempted to delete, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Cause and manner of death pending autopsy
The FPD announced during the Feb. 1 press conference that following further investigation, they believe Buzbee was dead. Investigators surmise that Buzbee died shortly after her Jan. 5 disappearance according to ABC6.
After speaking with his legal team, Thomas accompanied law enforcement to Perry County on Sunday to help pinpoint Buzbee’s location. Authorities, along with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, recovered her body later that evening.
The cause and manner of death is now pending the results of an autopsy.
Thomas remains held in the Franklin County Jail on a $1.5 million cash surety bond, his next court date is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 10.
