A 14-year-old teenager from Washington state has been missing for three weeks after her mother said she met a man on the messaging platform Discord.
Ella Jones was last seen on January 5 at her home in Mount Vernon, a city in Washington state. The missing girl’s mother, Sarah Merrill, believed her daughter was talking to an older man online – someone in his 30s.
Merrill says she can’t bear to think about the nearby I-5 Corridor, which she says is “the most sex-trafficked route in the world.”
The mother said that when she first heard Ella was talking to an older man, she took away her phone and set up parental controls that limited her access, but said that when her daughter found the phone, she still can send messages using the TextNow app.
On Saturday, January 6, she went to wake her daughter up and start breakfast, but then saw that her daughter’s window was open and that her daughter was nowhere to be seen.
Ella Jones, 14, has been missing since Jan. 6 after leaving her Mount Vernon home with an older man she met online
Ella’s mother, Sarah Merrill (pictured together) believes her daughter is in danger and being held against her will after meeting a stranger she met online
A note was left saying she was loved but she had to go, as well as her cell phone, house keys and computer.
Merrill said that when she rushed to her daughter’s friends, she said many of her friends gave her conflicting information, but they all knew she was talking to an older man online named Keith.
Her friends told Merrill that she had been talking to him since October and that one of the children told Merrill that “Ella trusted him.’ She also learned that Ella had met him or was planning to meet him.
She told DailyMail.com that she believes her daughter was being cared for in recent months.
‘This isn’t her. I think she is in danger and possibly being held against her will. I’m very concerned,” Merrill said.
‘I don’t have any proof, that’s just my feeling. I can’t think of any other option that this would be her choice to do this.”
She also said she was “surprised she didn’t bring her phone after the extra effort she put into finding it.”
She adds that her kind-hearted teen calls most of her peers her “friends” and didn’t think she was thinking about the person she met online in a “romantic way.”
But she is paralyzed with fear knowing that the I-5 Corridor, an area notorious for sex trafficking, is nearby, making her daughter’s disappearance all the more disturbing.
“We live between Portland and Vancouver, BC, near the I-5 Corridor, the most sex trafficked route in the world.
‘It’s the highway that goes from Canada to Mexico, there are ports everywhere. I live an hour from the border.
Merrill, who works as a chemist, said she tries “not to spend too much time in that head space,” but said, “It’s alarming.”
“The best-case scenario at this point is that she is not trafficked for sex.
She said this after filing a missing person’s report with the Mount Vernon Police Department on Jan. 6, and the search involved multiple agencies from several states.
The Missing Person Flyer distributed throughout Washington State
Ella Jones laughs with a dog in happier times
She said many tips have come in from all over: up north, in the mountains or on the other side of the peninsula.
‘Detectives went into two different apartments, they pulled over a bus, they are actively involved and looking for her.;
She said there is a massive homeless and street drug epidemic in Washington state, and while she doesn’t think her daughter is part of that group, she said she relies on them for information.
“They’re outside watching all the time and I’ve spoken to some of them. They don’t want to see a child there.
‘It’s a big area, it’s overwhelming. There are many unsafe and unsavory neighborhoods and many tips coming in from areas of high concern.
She said her daughter has dark brown hair, brown eyes and a slim build. She is 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 125-130 pounds.
“She has bangs and very noticeable dimples,” Merrill noted.
She was last seen wearing multi-colored plaid pajama pants, a black hooded sweatshirt and black sneakers, and carrying a large green backpack.
It was said that her daughter took her electric toothbrush, her hair dryer and her yarn and crochet hooks, and does not believe she is wearing the same clothes as when she went missing.
The Discord platform in an instant messaging and social platform that allows users to call, text or make video calls. TextNow is a mobile carrier that offers free service once you download the app.
DailyMail.com contacted the Mount Vernon Police Department and said they have received many tips that they are investigating.
“We’ve had a lot of reports of these tips, but there’s nothing we’ve been able to use to find her yet,” Lt. Dave Shackleton said.
“We evaluate every report that comes in but cannot provide details on where the tips are coming from, but they are coming from a variety of places.”
He urged the public to call 911 immediately if the teen is sighted, and to call police if they have any information about Ella’s disappearance.
‘It’s about week three. At any time, especially when a young person goes missing and they lose contact with family and friends, it is very concerning.”
If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Ella Jones, they are asked to contact the Mount Vernon Police Department at 1-360-428-3211.
