A Wisconsin teenager who disappeared from outside a Chicago movie theater on June 23, 2022, was found alive after allegedly being held captive for four years at a home in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Police said the 15-year-old girl, identified as Joniah Walker, who is now 19, took an Uber from Milwaukee to Chicago to meet a man with whom she had been communicating with online, NBC News reported Thursday.
Her family and friends claimed Milwaukee police did not move quickly on the case and gathered doorbell camera video of the last time she was seen.
“At that time, Walker was one of 36 long-term missing persons cases. Police said Walker was not classified as a critical missing person, a designation that can affect how resources are deployed,” Fox 6 reported June 30.
In a recent statement, the Blacksburg Police Department detailed how the young woman was found, according to WSLS.
The agency said officers had responded to a home for a domestic disturbance on May 23 and provided transport for the reporting party to a resource center:
Further investigation into this incident led officers to discover that the reporting party was reported missing as a juvenile out of Wisconsin. Detectives from the Blacksburg Police Department continued the investigation which lead to executing a search warrant at the same address.
Charges of abduction and immoral acts with a juvenile, strangulation, child abuse, and preventing a 911 call were placed against Owen Lars Anderson of Blacksburg. Additional charges are pending as the investigation continues in this case.
Milwaukee authorities have since filed kidnapping and child abduction charges against the suspect, per the NBC article.
A criminal complaint said when Anderson was arrested, he was allegedly carrying a Glock 17 pistol in his waistband, a Glock 26 pistol under his arm, and had 14 loaded spare magazines, knives, and cans of pepper spray.
A police officer previously told NBC they did not believe the victim was involved in human trafficking.
The internet can be a place for predators and human traffickers to target victims who might not recognize the risks or know how to protect themselves, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website.
“While the Internet is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, predators oftentimes take advantage of this and actively stalk online meeting places such as chat rooms and social media sites to lure their victims,” the site read.
