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WJHL – (WJHL) – A nationwide search is underway for a missing 14-year-old girl from Surgoinsville, TN. She is believed to be with a man who authorities are calling a "sexually violent predator".
Previously, News Channel 11 reported the U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward in the location of Hayleigh Wilson.
She was last seen with 41-year-old Benjamin Shook, who currently has an active warrant for failure to register as a sex offender out of Georgia.
Authorities believe Wilson and Shook are in the Appalachian Mountains area of Smyth and Washington County, VA.
The National Center of Mission and Exploited Children has created a video to alert the public about this case. If you are reading this on a mobile device, click here to watch the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7X_N3zODNM
Witnesses reported seeing Wilson with Shook on June 24 near a campground in Sugar Grove, VA (Smyth County, VA). It's believed a driver dropped them off after picking them up earlier. Authorities said Shook met the girl online.
Previously, the search for Wilson and Shook spanned only three states, with much of the focus being in Southwest Virginia where detectives still have an outpost set up in Smyth County, VA. It's also been more than one week since the vehicle investigators say Shook was driving was found abandoned in Grayson County, VA.
Officers said, with the search reaching a national audience, they desperately need local communities to step in and spread the word about the search.
"Not everybody has this information, even in the tight area here. They've just either not watched the news or read a newspaper. They just don't have the information. We are just trying to drive this home to say please if you see these people we need to know," said Major Chip Shuler of the Smyth County Sheriff's Office.
AMBER ALERT Poster: http://www.missingkids.com/poster/AMBER/11791/8633/screen
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Wilson and Shook are asked to call the 1-800-THE-LOST. Calls can be made anonymously.
Hayleigh is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. Hayleigh has brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a sleeveless flowery top with dark colored shorts or a skirt and boots.
Benjamin is described as 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. Benjamin has blue eyes and brown hair. He has multiple tattoos. He may have shaved off his beard and may have removed his glasses. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt with the letters "Ford" written on it, dark shorts and a camouflage baseball hat.
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