A 14-year-old girl reported missing from Zeigler, Illinois, has been found in Stark County, according to police.
Officers from the Perry Township Police Department responded to a residence at 300 Westland Ave NW in Massillon around 4:54 p.m. Wednesday to assist the Zeigler Police Department with a welfare check. The teen had been missing since early Tuesday morning.
Although officers did not find the juvenile at the residence, they discovered her belongings inside. Following an investigation, officers conducted a traffic stop near Genoa Ave SW and the railroad tracks, where they found the missing teen inside a vehicle with 23-year-old Steven D. Myers.
Myers was taken into custody and charged with interference with custody, a fourth-degree felony. He was booked into the Stark County Jail as the case remains under investigation.
According to Zeigler police, the girl was able to make contact with a relative, who then notified authorities. Law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Illinois State Police, worked together to track the suspect’s location in real time. Police believe Myers was en route to a police station when Perry Township officers intercepted the vehicle.
