A teenage girl who had been missing for more than 250 days has been found alive at the home of a former teacher in Ohio, sparking public outrage over how she was located and how long officials struggled to gain access to the property. The girl, now 17, ran away from Huckleberry House, a youth crisis shelter in Columbus, in December 2025 and was discovered 263 days later at the home of Jobe Binkley, a 48-year-old former science teacher who had already been dismissed from his post over concerns about his conduct with students. Relatives allege the girl was groomed by Binkley after they met at school two years earlier, describing her as vulnerable and searching for a parental figure.

Binkley was arrested and charged with interference with custody, a first-degree misdemeanor, after officers acting on a warrant confronted him at his home on 21 August; he had reportedly refused officers entry on two previous visits and initially denied the teenager was there before she was found. He has pleaded not guilty and been released on bond, though a former county prosecutor has said further charges are possible once investigators examine phone evidence and the teenager's own account. Binkley had been placed on administrative leave twice by his school district over professional conduct concerns before being fired for a separate technology policy violation, though the district said earlier allegations against him were unsubstantiated.