An 11-year-old girl reported missing from Bristol, Tennessee has been found safe in Maryville, after detectives traced cell-phone data and online messages to an 18-year-old man who faces charges in Blount County. Elijah Millsaps Fuson, of Maryville, is being held on a $100,000 bond and is expected to face a charge in Sullivan County after the Blount County charges are satisfied.
According to wjhl.com, Bristol police said the child was reported missing as a runaway on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Detectives discovered social media communication between the minor and Millsaps Fuson, and investigators determined that he picked up the juvenile on the night she went missing.
Cell-Phone Data Breaks the Case
Using cell phone data, detectives were able to identify a location in Maryville, the same report states. Per SuperTalk 92.9, a city report said no leads on the pair's whereabouts emerged until police pinged cell phones and obtained online chat records, combining that digital trail with the social-media messages detectives had already uncovered.
Maryville police found Millsaps Fuson and the girl at that location and took them into custody, according to the same report. The girl, who was from Bristol, is 11 years old, and investigators say she had exchanged online messages with the 18-year-old before she disappeared.
Charges Pending in Two Counties
Millsaps Fuson now faces charges in Blount County, where he was arrested, and he is being held on a $100,000 bond. SuperTalk 92.9 reports that after the Blount County charges are satisfied, he will be brought back to Sullivan County to face one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, per a city statement cited in that report.
Court records for the Blount County charges can be tracked through the Blount County court records system. Reports on the exact status of the Sullivan County kidnapping charge have varied, and no primary police statement or court filing was available to confirm the precise timing or sequence of that charge.
