ARDMORE, OKLAHOMA / ZACHARY, LOUISIANA — Authorities arrested a Kentucky truck driver at a Love’s truck stop in Ardmore, Oklahoma on Tuesday night after finding him with a 17-year-old girl he allegedly lured online by pretending to be a teenager. The girl appeared uninjured, and her parents headed to pick her up Wednesday.
How Police Found Them
The girl vanished from her home in Zachary, Louisiana. Her family reported her missing at approximately 7 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17. Detectives monitored her online communications, identified who she had last spoken with, and pinged her phone. The trail led them straight to Ardmore. Officers found her and 38-year-old truck driver Michael D. Jay stepping out of a shower room at the Love’s truck stop that same evening.
Sgt. Matthew Dunn of the Ardmore Police Department spoke to KXII-TV about the discovery. “Now, when officers arrived, they did locate them coming out of one of these shower rooms,” Dunn said. “They were clothed. It is under investigation what occurred in the shower room and whether anything at all occurred in the shower room.”
How It Started Online
Before her disappearance, the teenager had been talking to Jay online. She thought he was her age. She wanted a ride to Mississippi. The 38-year-old truck driver offered one and she accepted. He picked her up — but drove her to Oklahoma instead.
Zachary Police Chief Darryl Lawrence spoke to Unfiltered News about the case. “She was on social media talking to someone she thought was her age. Turns out it was a guy that’s actually 38-years-old,” Lawrence said. “He came to pick her up, was not who she expected, and then took her in a completely different, unwanted direction.”
Lawrence praised the Ardmore officers for their swift response. “Once we contacted them, they dropped what they were doing and headed over to that Love’s station,” he said.
Jay waived extradition back to Louisiana, WAFB reported. Zachary Police detectives drove to Oklahoma to bring him back. He faces charges of simple kidnapping, indecent behavior with a juvenile, and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Officers will book him into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison upon his return. Jay is from Kentucky, and detectives are examining his background.
Warning to Parents
Lawrence called the incident a wake-up call for parents everywhere. As far as he knows, the teenager suffered no injuries. But he stressed the danger was very real. “We just have to make sure that they monitor their keys, their social media posts and whatever they are doing on social media,” Lawrence said.
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