A nationwide search is under way for Molly Linhardt, a St. Louis-area teenager missing since Monday. Police in St. Peters, Mo., have been searching for the 16-year-old girl since Monday afternoon when she allegedly lied to her father about her work schedule that afternoon at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant. KMOX reveals Linhardt is believed to be with a registered sex offender, 27-year-old Benjamin Kinkade, who also worked at the restaurant with the teenager.
* Linhardt is described as a white female, 5-foot-3 and 110 pounds. The teen has blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a KFC uniform consisting of black pants and a black shirt.
* Linhardt's father dropped her off at the KFC restaurant at 1699 Jungermann Rd., near the intersection of Harvester Rd., in St. Peters around 4 p.m. Monday. The teenager used the restroom at the restaurant, left the business and then met Kinkade later that evening.
* Kinkade is 27 , six feet tall and weighs 192 pounds. The man has brown hair, brown eyes and has an address in Wright City, Mo. KMOX reveals Kinkade drives a 2006 Chevy Colorado pickup truck with Missouri license plates 7PT914.
* Kinkade was convicted of statutory rape as a 17-year-old in 2002 who had sex with a 12-year-old female in Troy, Mo. KMOV reports an Amber Alert has not yet been issued because authorities believe the teenager is not in imminent danger.
* Melissa Doss of the St. Peters Police Department told KMOX Linhardt's parents believe she is "in a relationship" with Kinkade. There is a picture of the two together, wearing KFC uniforms , posted to the teen's Twitter account Dec. 17.
* The Twitter account @mlinhardt7 last had activity on Monday. The teen replied to Twitter user @jordingraham about seeing each other at school around 8 a.m. Linhardt's father alleges his daughter skipped class that day and found Kinkade near the school. At that point, the girl's cell phone was taken away.
* The Facebook page "Missing Cases " has an alert out for the teenager. The organization's Twitter feed also urges the public to keep a lookout for the teen. The Twitter hashtag #FindMolly is being circulated among her friends, family and peers at school.
* The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children posts information regarding Lindhardt. A more formal school photo is available on the group's website. The organization claims the two may travel to Texas or Florida.
* Police believe Linhardt left voluntarily and of her own free will, according to KSDK . An image of Kinkade's truck was taken on surveillance footage a few days before the missing persons report.
* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reveals Kinkade was fired from his job at KFC at the end of December. Linhardt's father alleges the man dropped his daughter off at the end of the school day before being dropped off at KFC.
* The girl's family simply wants her to contact them to make sure she's OK. Katie Linhardt, the girl's older sister, pleaded with the teen to "call anybody." Meanwhile, the girl's grandmother said "somebody's got to see her," according to the Post-Dispatch.
* Molly Linhardt is a junior at Francis Howell North High School. On her Twitter account, the teen talks about things like smoking "ganja" and "wake and bake" with "Bob Marley," both references to marijuana use. The teenager posted Dec. 31 as to her "only goal for 2013: to not get kicked outta North!"
* Anyone with information should call the St. Peters Police Department at 636-278-2222.
William Browning, a lifelong Missouri resident, writes about local and state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Born in St. Louis, Browning earned his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Missouri. He currently resides in Branson.
