The FBI used a Nintendo Switch console to locate a kidnapped 15-year-old girl who had been missing for 11 days in August 2022. ABC15 reports.
In a horrifying case of kidnapping and sexual exploitation, a young girl was only found and rescued after logging in online with her Nintendo Switch.
The unidentified Virginia teenager is a couch potato, family and friends said, and unlikely to run away. However, in January 2022, when she was just 14, she met a stranger — then 28-year-old Ethan Roberts — on online chat platform Omegle. The two chatted for a few days and then shifted their conversation to Discord and Snapchat. Roberts sent the girl nudes of herself and also requested explicit pictures of her, which she complied with. Roberts later traveled 2,000 miles from his home in Tolleson, Arizona to the young girl’s hometown. Their encounter culminated in Roberts kidnapping the girl and taking her back to Arizona. According to court documents viewed by , Roberts forced the teen to “insist” that between August 3, 2022 and August 14, 2022, she meet strangers on Omegle in order to sell them nudes via Snapchat my city.
When the girl went missing on August 3, people in Virginia put up leaflets trying to find her. Keitra Coleman, a volunteer at the local nonprofit Hear their voices (which helps find missing and exploited children, victims of domestic violence and the homeless). ABC15 You were involved in the case.
“We immediately reached out to her family and spoke to her grandmother and stepfather, and the next day we were with our boots on the ground,” Coleman said. “She’s been through a lot in those few days [and] reminded me so much of my daughter.”
Unfortunately, no one was able to pinpoint her location — until the girl booted up her Nintendo Switch to watch YouTube videos and download a game. A friend saw that she was online and informed the authorities. With Nintendo’s cooperation, the FBI obtained the Switch’s IP address, determined its location, and proceeded to arrest Roberts. Retired Arizona DPS Director Frank Milstead, who was not involved in the case, said ABC15 that law enforcement agencies often use tracking information from digital devices to apprehend suspected criminals and find missing persons.
“It’s probably not something anyone would have thought of at the time,” Milstead said. “The fact that someone else down the street — another kid — was smart enough to say, ‘Hey look, my girlfriend is online and she’s missing, and I have to tell someone.’ Everything is connected to WiFi [and] LTE (Long Term Evolution Devices). A cell phone, an iPad, a watch, whatever it is – you can use these things to track people. The villains need to know that the police are watching you and that you leave a digital footprint everywhere. We will find you.”
In an email to my cityan FBI official said the case was proof that no one could escape the agency’s work rich and expansive Resources.
“Thanks to the quick response of local police and the ingenuity of the Norfolk FBI, we were able to locate the missing victim through her gaming account and reunite her with her family,” the FBI said said the representative and linked to a press release about the incident. “As the world evolves, so does the FBI and the way we solve cases. This is just one example. And while criminals may think crossing state lines will help them escape, this case also serves as a reminder that because of the FBI’s wide reach and partnership with local law enforcement, these criminals will be caught and face the consequences.”
my city Contacted Nintendo for comment.
Roberts was charged with four counts, including soliciting a minor online, carrying a minor and receiving child pornography. He struck a deal and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison last April.
Update 7/17/23 2:25pm ET: Added comment from the FBI.
