NEED TO KNOW
- Hailey Buzbee disappeared from her Indiana home on Jan. 5
- Tyler Thomas, 39, has been arrested on felony charges of “sexually oriented matter” pertaining to a minor and tampering with evidence; he is not facing charges in connection with Buzbee’s death
- Police allege Buzbee and Thomas met online and following the alleged abduction, the two briefly stayed at a “short-term rental”
An Indiana teenager who went missing nearly a month ago has been found dead, according to the attorney of the man arrested in the case.
Hailey Buzbee, 17, disappeared from her home in Fishers, Ind. on Jan. 5, according to a statement issued by the Fishers Police Department on Jan. 19.
While investigators previously believed she had run away, they eventually deemed her an “an endangered missing juvenile.”
On Sunday, Feb. 1, Fishers Police announced they believed Buzbee to be dead, and said they had made an arrest.
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Tyler Thomas, 39, was arrested over the weekend and booked into the Franklin County jail, online records show; he is not facing charges in connection with Buzbee’s death.
Thomas’ lawyer Samuel Shamansky confirms to PEOPLE that Thomas led investigators to Buzbee’s body in Perry County, Ohio on Sunday, Feb. 2.
“Mr. Thomas made the decision when we first met him on Friday to assist the government and law enforcement with locating Ms. Buzbee’s body, and that was of fair amount of importance to us and to Mr. Thomas,” Shamansky says.
The Fishers Police Department confirms to PEOPLE they are aware of the recovery of a body but said an official determination about the identity has not been made, and declined to confirm Shamansky’s claim.
The Perry County coroner’s office was not reachable on Monday.
Franklin County Jail
Authorities allege Thomas and Buzbee met through online gaming, Fishers police said at the briefing on Sunday.
“He admitted to picking Hailey up at her home. He told us that he dropped her off on the side of the road in western Ohio,” Fisher Police Chief Ed Gebhart said.
Police recovered evidence indicating Thomas and Buzbee stayed at “a short-term rental” after they met, but they couldn’t find her at the location, per the press conference.
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said at the briefing that Buzbee is being remembered as “a bright light in the family” and someone who lived with a “tremendous amount of promise and hope.”
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Thomas was booked into jail on two felony charges of “sexually oriented matter” pertaining to a minor and tampering with evidence, according to Franklin County jail records.
Shamansky tells PEOPLE they plan to enter pleas of not guilty to the current charges, as well as to charges relating to Buzbee’s death should they arise.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
