. In January 2022, the 14-year-old met 28-year-old Ethan Roberts via the Omegle platform. After a few days, the couple moved their relationship to Discord and Snapchat. At that time, Roberts allegedly demanded nude photos from the girl, also sending her his own photos.
On August 3, 2022, Roberts traveled nearly 3,000 km from his hometown of Tolleson, Arizona, and then abducted a teenage girl. According to court documents, while the girl was at his home, the man forced her to take nude photos, which he sold via Snapchat.
The kidnapped teenager did not have a mobile phone with her to contact her family. However, the kidnapper allowed her to take a portable Nintendo Switch console from home. And it was she who contributed to finding her.
Nintendo Switch helped find a kidnapped teenager. The FBI tracked the console
For the first few days after the kidnapping, the FBI had no lead that would in any way help in locating the child. Everything changed when the teenager turned on the Nintendo Switch console to watch a YouTube video and download the game.
Then one of the friends of the kidnapped girl received a notification on her console that her profile appeared “online”, which she immediately informed the relevant services. Federal agents contacted Nintendo, and she gave them the IP address of the console, which enabled them to find the girl and arrest her kidnapper.
Frank Milstead, retired head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, told ABC15 that although the services often use digital traces to locate criminals and abductees, no one initially thought about it in this particular case. Milstead praised the friend of the kidnapped teenager, who – as the former police officer says – “she was alert enough to say, ‘Hey look, my friend who is missing is online.'”
Everything is connected to Wi-Fi and LTE today. Mobile phone, iPad, watch, whatever it is – you can use these devices to locate people. Criminals need to know that the police are watching and that you leave a digital trail everywhere. We will find you
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Ethan Roberts faces four charges, including luring a minor online, transporting a minor, and receiving child pornography. He settled with the court and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
