Ohio Amber Alert Ends with Safe Recovery of 13-Year-Old, Suspect Arrested
An Amber Alert issued on Friday for a missing 13-year-old girl from Columbus has been canceled after she was safely recovered at 6:19 p.m. The suspect involved in her disappearance, 48-year-old Shane Smith of Springfield, was arrested around 8:10 p.m. in Springfield.
Springfield police confirmed the girl was found unharmed, and Smith, who was known to both the girl and her family, was taken into custody. Columbus dispatchers had warned that Smith may have been armed and dangerous.
Court documents allege that Smith persuaded the girl to run away with him, intending to start a new life together in another state. The documents also claim the two had a sexual relationship. Smith has been charged with kidnapping.
Smith, who has two open court cases, was indicted in October 2023 for felonious assault with a firearm and again in February 2024 for cocaine possession, according to Clark County court records.
The Amber Alert was issued around 3:45 p.m. on Friday before the girl was found and the suspect apprehended.
