Missing teen found with 45-year-old man at North Carolina RV park, sheriff says

A missing 17-year-old girl was discovered when deputies closed in on a “wanted man” living at an RV park, according to investigators in western North Carolina.

The arrest happened Wednesday after someone called 911 to report 45-year-old Joshua John Childers had been seen at Big Mike’s Creekside RV Resort in Newland, the Avery County Sheriff’s Office said in an April 30 news release.

“Deputies arriving in the area observed the wanted individual along with a ‘runaway’ juvenile female who was entered as a missing and endangered runaway,” the sheriff’s office said.

“After a short foot pursuit, Avery County Sheriff’s Office canine handlers and drone operators were able to track and locate the fleeing individuals in a wooded area above Hardee’s in Newland. Both individuals were taken into custody.”

Court documents report Childers used social media to contact the 17-year-old girl, despite a protective order telling him to avoid contact.

Childers is charged with: possession of stolen goods; misdemeanor probation violation; two counts of a violation of a domestic violence order; felony abduction of a child, and felony first degree sexual exploitation of a minor, the sheriff’s office said.

The teen was placed in the custody of the N.C. Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, officials said.

Newland is about a 110-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte.