EMMET COUNTY — Michigan State Police on Thursday said that a registered sex offender in Petoskey was found harboring a juvenile runaway from West Virginia.
On April 10, the Gaylord Regional Communication Center was contacted by a member of a police agency in West Virginia requesting assistance from the Michigan State Police.
Troopers from the MSP Gaylord Post spoke with an officer from the West Virginia police department, and the officer told troopers his agency was investigating a missing juvenile, troopers said. The police had information indicating the missing juvenile was in the Petoskey area, troopers said.
The officer also said they had reason to believe the juvenile was with a registered sex offender, troopers said.
Troopers were able to obtain a search warrant for a residence in Petoskey, they said, and they found the missing juvenile.
The person harboring her, a 26-year-old man, is a registered sex offender with a previous conviction of criminal sexual conduct victim under 13, troopers said. He was home when troopers arrived at the residence, they reported.
The man stated he knew the juvenile was reported missing and he was allowing her to stay with him, troopers said.
The man was arrested and sent to the Emmet County Jail. The juvenile was taken to the MSP Gaylord Post and arrangements are being made to return her to her home in West Virginia.
The police department in West Virginia is handling the investigation as to how the juvenile and the sex offender met and ended up together.