Police: Missing girl from Washington found at Michigan man’s home
SOUTH HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Police say a missing teen girl from Washington was found near South Haven with a 30-year-old sex offender.
The girl, age 14, was reported missing Jan. 6 in Mount Vernon, Washington, according to the Mount Vernon Police Department.
Police learned the teenager may have used a ride-sharing service, and they were able to find a ride she may have taken. Then, investigators identified the person who had ordered the ride, who police named Thursday only as “Keith.”
Michigan State Police records and Van Buren County jail records indicate the suspect is 30-year-old Keith Freerksen. Freerksen is listed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry for 2017 convictions out of Florida’s Seminole County, with listed charges of possessing a photograph, film or other representation that knowingly includes sexual conduct by a child.
Freerksen had an address near South Haven, police say. The Mount Vernon Police Department began working with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office.
“We started getting a number of tips coming in as to where she might be,” explained Lt. Dave Shackleton with the Mount Vernon Police Department. “Those tips, that had any sort of substantive information that we were able to follow up on, we did. That culminated on the night of the 30th, when we got a tip that led us to possibly focus on a subject that whose name had been out there publicly, as the name of Keith.”
When deputies with the sheriff’s office went to the property on Blue Star Memorial Highway, near 20th Avenue, they found the 14-year-old girl, according to the Mount Vernon Police Department. She was not hurt.
Police say the suspect, Freerksen, was also found there. He was taken into custody Wednesday.
Online records from Van Buren County show nine charges were filed against Freerksen Thursday: two counts of human trafficking of a minor for commercial sexual activity, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and accosting children for immoral purposes.
Mount Vernon police say the girl’s parents were “elated” upon learning their daughter was found.
“They were super excited, as you can imagine,” said Lt. Shackleton. “Not seeing or hearing from your daughter for that amount of time would be excruciating.”
News 8 is not naming the girl because she is a juvenile and may be the victim of a crime.
— News 8’s Taylor Morris contributed to this report.
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