An American teenager who had been missing for 263 days was found alive at the Ohio home of a former teacher, according to court records.
The girl disappeared from Huckleberry House, a transitional living centre for young people in Columbus, on December 2, 2025. She was 16 when she left the facility and has since turned 17. The search ended on August 21 when Springfield police and an officer working with a US Marshals Service task force went to an address in Springfield that court documents identified as the teenager’s last suspected location.
The property belonged to 48-year-old Jobe Binkley, a former teacher with the Springfield City School District. According to court records, Binkley acknowledged that the teenager was inside the property and called for her to come out. It was reportedly the third time officers had visited the address while searching for the girl. During two previous visits, Binkley allegedly refused to allow officers to search the property and told them she was not there.
Court records state that officers had informed Binkley that the teenager was officially classified as a missing person. The documents did not explain why the property was not searched during the earlier visits. Binkley has since been charged with one count of interference with custody, a first-degree misdemeanour under Ohio law. He has pleaded not guilty and was released on bond. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for September 30.
Personnel records obtained by Columbus broadcaster ABC 6 show that Binkley previously worked for the Springfield City School District. It remains unclear from the information provided how he knew the teenager or whether he had ever taught her. Binkley was placed on administrative leave in November 2024 after concerns were raised about his professional interactions with students. The school district investigated the concerns but found that the claims could not be substantiated.
He was again placed on leave in January 2025 before being dismissed the following month for violating the district’s technology policy, according to personnel records. The school district said it did not become aware of the allegations involving the missing teenager until after Binkley had left his position.
Former Franklin County prosecutor Ron O’Brien said investigators could examine phones belonging to Binkley and the teenager as they attempt to establish what happened during the period she was missing. O’Brien said additional charges could depend on what investigators uncover.
“If you have an adult trying to take advantage of a minor, oftentimes, the only charge you might be able to lodge at the outset is an interference with custody,” O’Brien told ABC 6. “You really need the cooperation of the minor to do that. Sometimes they’re willing to provide that information and other times not.” Binkley has not been charged with any offence beyond interference with custody.
Danielle Flint, who lives near the Springfield property, said she had previously seen Facebook posts suggesting that the missing teenager might be at the address and had tried unsuccessfully to spot her around the property. “I’ve tried to peek around here and see if I can catch her, you know, in the back or maybe out of the house at night, but I had never seen her,” Flint told ABC 6. “I would literally lose every piece of me if that was one of my girls.”
Authorities have not disclosed the teenager’s current whereabouts or provided further information about her condition. The circumstances surrounding the 263 days she was missing have also not been publicly established.