The body of an Indiana girl who met a 39-year-old man online has been found in Ohio, according to the attorney of a person of interest in the case.
Hailey Buzbee, 17, was last seen by her parents on Jan. 5. She is believed to have met Tyler Thomas while online gaming and agreed to meet him.
A vehicle around Buzbee’s suburban Indianapolis home around the time of her disappearance was traced to Thomas, investigators said.
The girl was classified as a runaway before she was declared an “endangered missing juvenile” last month, around the same time investigators spoke to Thomas and he told them he dropped the girl off on the side of the road in Ohio.
Police searched Thomas’ car and home Jan. 21 and found evidence the girl had been inside both.
Franklin County Sheriff
Tyler Thomas, 39. (Franklin County Sheriff)
Thomas is currently charged in Franklin County Municipal Court with pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and tampering with evidence after allegedly attempting to delete explicit videos and images of Buzbee from his phone.
His bond was set at $1.5 million over the weekend, Thomas was briefly furloughed to the FBI on Sunday and then returned to Franklin County jail.
Sam Shamansky, the attorney for Thomas, said Monday that his client led investigators to her body on Feb. 1.
A judge ruled Monday that in the event Thomas posts bond, he cannot access the internet or have contact with minors.
Shamansky told the Columbus Dispatch he anticipates a charge related to the girl’s death, but that Thomas intends to plead not guilty.
“We don’t want anybody conflating our cooperation with any admission of guilt relating to her cause of death,” Shamansky told the paper.
