SOUTH HAVEN, Mich — EDITOR'S NOTE: Although the family and law enforcement previously identified the teen as a missing person, 13 ON YOUR SIDE is not sharing her name in further reporting because she is an alleged sexual assault victim.
Investigators said a missing Seattle-area 14-year-old girl was found living in a South Haven, Michigan home with a registered sex offender this week.
The teen was last seen on Jan. 6 in the Mount Vernon, Washington area. The Mount Vernon Police Department believes she voluntarily left her home using ride-share services.
Because that area has limited ride-share options, they were able to track down a ride that the girl might have taken.
They narrowed down their search and identified a potential suspect named "Keith" who ordered a ride share for her, and his address was in South Haven, Michigan.
More than 2,000 miles later, the young girl ended up at the home of 30-year-old Keith Freerksen in South Haven.
Freerksen has a previous conviction of possession of child pornography out of Florida dating back to 2017, according to Michigan's Sex Offender Registry.
He's now in custody to face various charges.
Washington-area police believe they have enough evidence to support a kidnapping charge against him.
The suspect is also facing charges in Michigan, including criminal sexual conduct 1st degree, sex offender - failure to comply with registration act, and children - contributing to delinquency.
Because these alleged crimes span many states, agencies are working to coordinate formal charges against him.
As soon as law enforcement found her, they called her parents. Police said they were elated with the news.
"Locating {her} safely is directly attributed to the family, friends and many who showed concern and compassion for her well-being. It's also directly attributed to our Federal, State, and Local Law enforcement partners who helped when investigative leaders went beyond our jurisdictional boundaries or abilities," Lt. Dave Shackleton of the Mount Vernon Police Department said in a news release.
"In particular, we thank the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office for their efforts in ultimately locating {her}."
Earlier this month, the teen's mother worked with friends and family to post fliers around their home with hopes of bringing her daughter home safe.
The girl's mother, a mom of three, told 13 ON YOUR SIDE sister station KING she believes her 14-year-old daughter was speaking with someone over social media.
"A couple of kids did see her speaking to an adult male on a video on our computer," she told KING.
She said her daughter reportedly met a man on a social platform called Omegle. Omegle is an online chatroom service that allows users to meet strangers at random.
The site shut down in November.
"It's like a roulette," she said. "It just matches you with random people.”
13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office for more about the South Haven man's arrest.
Authorities said they plan to share more details Friday.
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