A New York man is facing federal sexual exploitation charges amid an ongoing search for a missing Colerain Township teenager.
Madison Fields, a 16-year-old girl from Colerain Township, has been missing since Feb. 13.
Kyle Lawrence, 43, of Buffalo, New York, was arrested on Thursday night and appeared in federal court on Friday.
Investigators are continuing to search for Fields and the Ohio Attorney General's Office said the case has been upgraded to an endangered missing juvenile.
Colerain Township Police said Lawrence hasn't been charged in connection with Fields' disappearance. Officers did confirm that Lawrence had previous interactions with the teenager.
According to documents, on Feb. 16, Colerain Township police began investigating the circumstances surrounding Fields’ disappearance.
During that investigation, officers reviewed video from the teenager’s home and discovered that in January, she entered a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with New York license plates.
License plate readers and receipts confirm that Lawrence allegedly rented the vehicle and that Lawrence and Fields stayed at a Cincinnati hotel together on Jan. 31, two weeks before she went missing, according to federal investigators.
According to an affidavit, Lawrence said he communicated with Fields on Snapchat and traveled to the Cincinnati area twice in January to meet her.
On Thursday, FBI agents in Buffalo conducted a search warrant at Lawrence's residence and took several devices, which they said contained child sexual abuse material.
Lawrence has been charged with transportation with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, travel with the intent to engage in illicit conduct and transportation of child pornography.
In 2024, federal investigators said online vigilantes claimed Lawrence tried to meet a 15-year-old girl in Canada.
"We thank Madison's family and the public for their continued support and assistance in this investigation," said Colerain Township police chief Edwin C. Cordie III. "Colerain Police and our partners are working day and night to find Madison and bring her home."
u damn weirdo