Russell Cheeves caused the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl, who was found alive at his home, police said. (Screenshot: WSB)
Update – Police announced on June 16, 2023, that they found a missing girl at a home in Morrow, Georgia.
“[The child] was at the home with a man named Russell Cheeves (age 41, Morrow),” they wrote. “The lead detective for our agency has charged Russell with Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes and Interference with Custody. He is currently incarcerated in Clayton County on crimes that are alleged to have happened at the home in Morrow. [The child] was released to the custody of her parents.”
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A 14-year-old girl has been missing for more than two weeks, leaving her family and police worried because her disappearance is so out of character.
She is a high school student with a record of perfect attendance — but she mysteriously disappeared on May 24 after her last day of class at her high school in Gwinnett County, Georgia. She was last seen on surveillance footage at Parkview High School walking off campus, according to local ABC affiliate KAKE.
The teenager put her laptop and bookbag under her 17-year-old sister’s car in the parking lot and placed her debit card on the windshield, campus cops reportedly said.
“I just think somebody was coaching her, that’s just how I feel,” her father told the outlet. “I think someone coached her through this because she doesn’t walk anywhere.”
Gwinnett County cops said Monday that the teenager walked toward the parking lot after taking an exam. This was at approximately 10:32 a.m.
“[Her] cell phone was turned off a few hours later,” they said. “She has had no activity on social media. She does not have access to money or a car. These circumstances are outside her normal behavior, as she has perfect attendance in school.”
Officers consider her a “missing endangered child.”
Her disappearance was originally reported to the Gwinnett County School Police, who turned it over to local Gwinnett County cops.
“These streets are dangerous,” her father told KAKE in the May 31 report. “She’s 14. She doesn’t know too much.”
He described his daughter as quiet, a little antisocial, and a gamer, according to Fox 5 Atlanta in a Wednesday report. She is someone who would not just leave her family, he told the outlet. Normally, she would have left school with her older sister, Fox 5 reported.
“We really think that she was just talking to someone on an app and became friends with them, and they lured her out,” her father said. “Because she never would do anything like this.”
He told KAKE that his daughter’s phone pinged in several locations May 28 in the city of Morrow, but family could not find her when they searched. Her phone has been off since then.
Officers described the child as a Black girl with curly black hair and brown eyes. She stands 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weights 145 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white shirt, brown tights, and white and brown shoes, they said.
From Gwinnett County police:
Detectives are actively following up on all leads, and if anyone has any information to share in this case, please contact GCPD detectives at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrimeATL.com. Crime Stoppers tipsters can receive a cash reward for information in this case.
Note: We’ve removed the teenager’s and her father’s names.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
