A 31-year-old Dunnellon man is behind bars after a massively multiplayer online game helped law enforcement officers find a missing teen from Ohio in his home.
On Wednesday, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office detective was contacted by a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who requested assistance with locating a missing teenager from Ohio.
According to the arrest report, investigators had determined that the 16-year-old victim’s account for World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing game, had recently been accessed at a home in the 2300 block of SW Shorewood Drive in Dunnellon.
“Further investigation revealed that this was Thomas Ebersole’s home address, and his World of Warcraft account was also accessed at the location,” stated MCSO in a media release.
Law enforcement responded to the residence in Dunnellon and made contact with Ebersole at the front door. He initially denied knowing the victim, though he eventually went into the home and returned to the doorway with the victim, according to the report.
After being read his Miranda rights, he admitted to driving his vehicle to Ohio to pick up the victim. He initially claimed that he was “only friends’” with the victim, though the report stated that he later admitted to having a romantic relationship with her.
Ebersole admitted that he had used the internet-based application Discord to communicate with the victim via video calls and text messages. An MCSO detective was able to view the messages between Ebersole and the victim on Discord, and the report stated that Ebersole referred to the victim by several pet names that included “darlin,” “babygirl,” “beautiful,” “babe,” and “little wolf.”
During the post-Miranda interview, Ebersole told investigators that he had intended on hiding the victim in his home, with plans to eventually marry her. MCSO stated that the messages between Ebersole and the victim on Discord “further outlined his plans to meet the victim in Ohio and engage in sexual activity despite knowing that he was committing a crime.”
Ebersole was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is being charged with interfering with child custody, traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual activity, and sheltering an unmarried minor.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.