She Was Gone 19 Days. They Found Her 700 Miles From Home.

Gone for 19 Days

A 14-year-old girl reported missing from Middletown, Connecticut, on April 9, 2026, was found alive 19 days later inside a home on Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina - more than 700 miles from where she was last seen. The man she was found with, 51-year-old Justin Newman, was arrested on the spot and charged with first-degree kidnapping and multiple counts of statutory rape of a child under 15.

Newman is being held at the Brunswick County Detention Center with no bond. Additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues, according to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.

How They Found Her

The Middletown Police Department reported the girl missing on April 9. For 19 days, the investigation crossed state lines without a confirmed location. On April 27, Middletown authorities contacted the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina and provided investigators with a location and description.

Deputies located the teen inside Newman’s home on Ocean Isle Beach the same day and took Newman into custody at the scene. The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office confirmed she was alive and safe. Prosecutors in Brunswick County are continuing to review the evidence and coordinate with Connecticut authorities.

The App That Connected Them

According to court records reviewed by WBTV and WECT, Newman met the girl on a platform called Skout - a social and dating app that allows users to connect globally through livestreams, chats, and location-based matching. The two had reportedly been in contact for approximately three months before the girl disappeared from Connecticut.

Skout’s terms of service prohibit users under 18 from accessing certain features of the platform, but age verification on social and dating apps remains widely inconsistent. The case is one of several in recent years where investigators have traced missing minors to adults they met through social platforms designed primarily for adult connection.

The Charges He Faces

Newman, 51, is charged in Brunswick County with first-degree kidnapping and four counts of statutory rape of a child under 15. Under North Carolina law, first-degree kidnapping applies when a victim is unlawfully confined and either sexually assaulted, held for ransom, or not released in a safe location. Newman’s kidnapping charge carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

Whether additional charges will be brought in Connecticut - where the disappearance was reported - had not been confirmed at the time of this reporting. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for May 14, 2026, in Brunswick County.

What the Case Raises

Online predation through social and dating apps is one of the fastest-growing vectors in child exploitation cases, according to law enforcement agencies that track internet crimes against children. In many documented cases, contact begins months before a physical encounter - with the adult gradually building trust, secrecy, and dependence before initiating an in-person meeting.

The three-month communication window between Newman and the victim before her disappearance is consistent with grooming patterns identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to review the apps on their children’s devices, including apps categorized as social rather than dating, and to have direct conversations about contact with adults online.

For the teen’s family in Middletown, the 19 days ended with a phone call from North Carolina. Their daughter was alive. The man she had been with was in handcuffs.

References: Teenage girl missing from Connecticut found alive, 51-year-old man arrested | Man found with missing Connecticut girl on Ocean Isle Beach faces kidnapping, rape charges | Missing girl found hundreds of miles away in North Carolina; met suspect on dating app