Missing Rankin County teen found in Arkansas

RANKIN CO., Miss. (WLBT) – A missing Hartfield Academy student was found in Arkansas on Monday.

A press release says that John Michael Jones was lured online to meet with someone down the road from his Brandon home.

Authorities tell WLBT 3 On Your Side that the individual turned out to be an older Hispanic male who then secretly left with Jones.

The individual was later identified as 34-year-old Kaleb James Cannady.

According to the press release, an immediate Be On the Look Out was issued for Cannady’s vehicle, which was described as a silver 2015 Dodge Charger with an Arkansas license plate.

Troopers with the Arkansas State Police and officers with the Belle Vista Police Department found the suspect’s vehicle at 7:17 p.m. and took Cannady into custody for active warrants through the Rankin County Court.

Jones is safe and is in the custody of Arkansas State Police.

“The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend its thanks and appreciation to the United States Marshals Service, Arkansas State Police, Belle Vista Police Department, MS Bureau of Investigation, and MS Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in this case. Most of all, we would like to thank the public who made sure that John Michael Jones was present in everyone’s mind. With your assistance, in addition to our law enforcement partners, we were able to locate and recover the Brandon teen in a little over 24 hours.”

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.

Copyright 2024 WLBT. All rights reserved.