The family of missing Ohio teen Madison Fields is pleading for help as the search enters nearly a month.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Madison was last seen February 13 at around 4 p.m. in Cinncinati, leaving the the InTown Suites on Colerain Avenue.
Madison’s parents, Tyler and Carrie Hirn, told KVAL 13 that she returned home from school that day and asked if she could spend the night at a friend’s house.
Carrie Hirn gave her permission and hasn’t seen her daughter since.
“I thought she was going straight to her friend’s house,” Carrie said.
However, her younger sister said Madison supposedly left to meet an 18-year-old named “Josh,” whom she met on Session, an encrypted messaging app.
While reviewing security footage from Madison’s home in January, police linked her to a 43-year-old New York man, identified as Kyle Lawrence.
The footage showed her getting into a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with New York license plates.NBC 5 reports that license “plates readers and receipts” confirmed Lawrence rented the vehicle two weeks before Madison vanished.
On January 31, they reportedly stayed together at a Cincinnati hotel. A photo obtained by law enforcement showed Lawrence “in a swimming pool at a hotel with Maddie,” according to her mother.
Police arrested Lawrence, a married father with children, earlier this month in Buffalo, New York.
The Colerain Township Police Department (CTPD) stated that although he has not been directly charged with Madison’s disappearance, he’s facing charges that include:
- Transportation of child pornography
- Transportation with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity
- Travel with the intent to engage in illicit conduct
An arrest affidavit indicated that Lawrence admitted to chatting with Madison on Snapchat and meeting up with her twice in Cincinnati. He hasn’t admitted to harming her.
“He won’t tell us anything,” Carri Hirn said, adding that she had never seen him or his vehicle before.
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Several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI in Cincinnati and Buffalo, are working to find Madison.
She was last seen in camouflage pants, a black “Champion” hooded sweatshirt, and black shoes. She left with a black backpack and a white grocery bag.
“She’s a very smart girl,” Carrie Hirn said. “She’s very sweet and innocent.”
Meanwhile, Lawrence is scheduled for a detention hearing on Tuesday. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Madison Fields/Facebook]