An active duty U.S. military member is facing felony charges for allegedly pursuing a Falls teenager on social media then arranging to pick her up and take her to Delaware where he is stationed.
The secret online relationship resulted in a multi-state manhunt Thursday that ended when the girl was found safe in Dover, nearly nine hours after she was reported missing, and Dylan Drake Williams, 27, was taken into police custody.
Falls Police Chief Nelson Whitney confirmed Thursday night that Williams, a Colorado resident, is an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force, which has been assisting police with the investigation along with the FBI and US Marshals Service.
avoid apprehension
On Thursday night Falls police charged Williams with four felony offenses including unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors, according to the public court docket. Police are waiting to see if Williams agrees to be extradited to Pennsylvania, Whitney said.
Authorities allege that Williams allegedly began communicating with the girl through SnapChat in June and they exchanged sexually explicit messages on the social media platform.
At some point the girl told him her parents were checking her cellphone so she had to temporarily block him, according to a probable cause affidavit. The two resumed chatting on the app about a week later, the affidavit said.
The conversations allegedly turned sexual again in late July, where police allege Williams acknowledged in a message that he knew the girl was underage.
Earlier this month, Williams allegedly messaged the girl asking if she wanted to be “kidnapped,” by her “real bad daddy,” the affidavit said.
The two allegedly exchanged messages on SnapChat on Aug. 19 where they made plans to meet with Williams telling the girl to pack a bag and sneak out of her house.
He also allegedly told the girl to block him on her cellphone and leave it behind.
The girl’s parents contacted police around 7:30 a.m. Thursday to report the girl was missing and she had apparently left the house through a back window four hours earlier, the affidavit said.
Her parents found the cellphone she left behind and when they searched it they found “concerning messages” but nothing that provided a cluewhere she might be, the affidavit said.
The situation prompted Falls police to issue an alert and press conference seeking the public’s help with locating the girl.
Her parents gave police permission to download her cellphone for a forensic examination which is how they found the SnapChats with Williams, the affidavit said.
Police were able to locate Williams’ cellphone at the Delaware Air base, and when law enforcement there contacted him, he admitted the missing girl was with him, the affidavit said.
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: U.S. airman pursued Falls teen who went missing Thursday: Police
