Ex-Nickelodeon Star Jokes About His Headline-Grabbing ‘Disappearance’
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Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell posted a message to fans on Thursday night—just hours after he was declared “missing and endangered” by Daytona Beach Police, only to be located safe soon after.
“You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer for the night and this?” Bell posted, alongside a face with the “tears of joy” emoji.
Police initially shared a post saying that Jared “Drake” Bell had vanished on Wednesday night at around 9 p.m. in Central Florida.
“He should be traveling in a 2022 grey BMW and his last known location is potentially the area of Mainland High School,” the department said in the post.
Three hours later, the department changed its tune, saying he had been located and is “safe.”
“At this time we can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe,” a police spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Beast that deputies found Bell at around 11:30 a.m. “unharmed” and took him in for an involuntary examination to ensure he “receives a mental health evaluation.” It was not immediately clear where Bell was found.
Bell’s brother, Robert, told The Daily Beast earlier on Thursday that his family was actively looking for him and were waiting to share any news until he is located. Bell’s manager and attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We’re just waiting to figure out what is going on,” Robert said shortly before Bell was found.
The actor’s social media has been active over the last month, and his last tweet on April 3 promised an interview with a podcast he recently participated in.
Since his lead role on Drake & Josh, Bell has battled several legal issues. He recently completed probation after pleading guilty in June 2021 to a felony child endangerment charge.
The charges stemmed from a December 2017 incident between Bell and a 15-year-old girl. Authorities said that after Bell and the teenager met, they spoke on social media for months, and the content of those messages were “at times…sexual in nature.”
Bell was convicted of two DUIs in 2010 and 2016.
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