Man Wanted In California Teen's Kidnapping Caught In Arizona With Missing Boy

A Kentucky man was accused of traveling to California to have sex with a teen whom he then allegedly tried to take back to Kentucky.

Carlie Joe Bentley, 49, was arrested while traveling through Arizona with the 14-year-old boy. Bentley and the boy met through an online dating site. They continued using the app to communicate and eventually meet.

Bentley traveled to San Diego on Dec. 30 where he checked into a motel. He stayed there for two days with the boy. After this, the boy told his friends he had engaged in sexual activity with Bentley and that he even had videos of it.

On Sunday, the teen left his house with a note to his family saying he was running away. A family member contacted the boy’s friends who told them he had left with a 49-year-old man and the two of them might come back “at spring break or when the boy turned 18-years-old.” When they heard this, the family member called the police, according to their statement to the FBI.

Upon investigation, the police learned that the two were in Arizona and law enforcement agencies there were alerted to be on the lookout for the duo.

Just after 7:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. EST) Sunday, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputy caught sight of a silver vehicle with Kentucky plates. They let the car pass because the deputy saw only one person in the vehicle. Soon after this, the deputy heard an update on the possible location of Bentley's car and realized it was likely in the area. The officer notified troopers who spotted the car pulled over on Interstate 17 in Black Canyon City, Arizona, with the teen in the passenger seat. They were on their way to Kentucky. Bentley was taken into custody, and the boy was sent to protective custody. According to the arresting officers, Bentley’s pants were unzipped and unbuttoned as he exited the car.

Bentley admitted to traveling to San Diego to meet the victim and engage in sexual activity, an FBI agent said. He was charged with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He was held without a bond Tuesday in the Camp Verde Detention Center, Arizona. The boy was later returned safely to his family. The police and FBI were handling the case.

In a similar case, former Tennessee school teacher, Tad Cummins, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday. The 52-year-old was a teacher with the Maury County School District till February 2017 after a student saw him kissing a 15-year-old student, Elizabeth Thomas. After his suspension, Cummins and Thomas were on the run till they were caught in a remote forest cabin at Siskiyou County, California, in April.

An amber alert for Thomas was issued and police put Cummins on Tennessee’s “Top Ten Most Wanted” list. He pleaded guilty to transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct and obstruction of justice.