A Missouri teen who went missing in December was located hiding in the closet of a registered s*x offender in Colorado, 700 miles away from home.
The teen managed to help police locate her after she was able to send a message on Instagram. From the moment of her disappearance until her rescue, her social media accounts had been inactive.
She was reported missing by her father when the school called him on December 6 to inform him she missed classes that day.
When she was able to access her Instagram account four months after vanishing, investigators were able to track down the IP address where the account was logged into.
When they arrived at the door of 44-year-old registered sex offender Maximilian Bondrescu, in Fort Collins, just outside Denver, on April 15, he denied ever meeting the girl. However, given his status on the sex offender registry, police returned with a warrant three days later. They searched his house and found the teen hiding inside a closet.
According to the Daily Mail, Bondrescu has been “charged with child abuse, harboring a minor, obstructing a peace officer, second-degree assault, and false imprisonment after allegedly locking the girl in a room for extended periods and using threats to keep her compliant.”
Upon her rescue, the teen reported that she and Bondrescu started communicating in November 2024. They first used the app called Boo, but later switched to SnapChat.
They agreed for him to help her run away from home.
Bondrescu rented a car and picked her up from her Missouri home. He then drove her to Colorado, avoiding toll roads.
According to the police, the girl wore and mask and sunglasses on the rare occasions she was let outside. She also revealed that Bondrescu forced her to work for his snow plowing company FoCo Sno GO.
She didn’t have any access to her social media account because he smashed her phone the moment he took her to his house. However, he then gave her one of his old phones, unaware the Instagram app was still installed. It was then that the teen was able to send a message, hoping someone would see it.
Bondrescu is being held on $500,000 bond. His court date is scheduled for Monday, May 5, according to Larimer County Jail records.
Fort Collins Police Assistant Chief Kristy Volesky said, “The importance of the work done by the Fort Collins Police Cyber Crime Unit, and similar units across the nation play a vital role in helping to keep our children safe.”
“Had it not been for the diligent work of these detectives, the juvenile could have continued to be victimized. Our investigators will now work closely with the District Attorney’s Office to ensure justice for this child.”
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