The FBI reportedly found a missing child thanks to her appearing online using her Nintendo Switch.
The child, who has not been named due to her age, was taken from her home in Virginia in August. 29-year-old Ethan Roberts is alleged to have taken the girl to an apartment in Tolleson, Arizona.
According to Federal court records (via ABC15), Roberts allowed the child to bring her Nintendo Switch with her.
When she then connected it to the wifi in order to watch YouTube or download a game, she appeared online, and this alerted one of her friends.
“It’s probably nothing that anybody even had thought of at this point,“ said retired Arizona DPS Director Frank Milstead.
“The fact that somebody else down the road — another child — was bright enough to go, ‘Hey, look, my friend is online, and she’s been missing, and I need to tell somebody.’”
Eleven days after her disappearance, FBI records show that the Tolleson police located the apartment, and swiftly surrounded it. He was arrested on the scene.
Roberts was later indicted in federal court. His charges included child pornography and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
In April 2023 he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
