A 48-year-old man was arrested on a kidnapping charge related to a statewide AMBER Alert on Friday.
According to News Center 7 at 11:00, the 13-year-old child was last seen in Franklin County on S Huron Avenue in Columbus around 10:08 a.m.
According to police, Shane Steven Smith, 48, allegedly kidnapped the girl. According to records from Franklin County Municipal Court, Smith is the girl’s stepfather.
Smith was last seen driving a white 2004 Ford Ranger, which was discovered by Clark County Sheriff’s deputies in the 1400 block of Styer Drive in Park Layne around 4:45 p.m.
Randall Menefee, a Park Layne resident, expressed concern about what was taking place in his community.
“I mean, I’m sitting here shaking inside, and it’s not even my child,” he said.
According to Franklin County Municipal Court records, the girl’s father claimed that his cameras caught her taking the cat and leaving their home on South Huron Avenue around 5 a.m.
The father stated that the school bus does not pick her up until 6 a.m., and the middle school claimed she never arrived.
Columbus Division of Police detectives contacted the school counselor and discovered that the girl was in contact with Smith.
According to court records, Smith planned to pick up the girl and take her to another state to begin a new life as a couple.
At 3:45 p.m., Columbus police issued a statewide AMBER Alert for the 13-year-old.
The alert was lifted around 6:20 p.m. after the girl was discovered safe at a relative’s home in Springfield.
Smith was arrested on a kidnapping charge along Stanton Avenue in Springfield Friday night.
According to News Center 7, Smith has open felonious assault and drug cases in the Clark County Court of Common Pleas.
We will continue to track this story and provide updates.
