RANGELEY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested Wednesday on charges he concealed the whereabouts of a 15-year-old girl from Pennsylvania and interfered with her custody, Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said.
Kyle Bedow, 18, of Grand Valley, Pa., was arrested by Deputy Sandy Burke on warrants issued in the disappearance of the girl, also from Grand Valley, Pa., the sheriff said. She had been missing since Sept. 29, he said.
She was placed in protective custody and her parents were on their way to Maine on Wednesday to pick her up, the sheriff said.
Bedow is being held without bail at the Franklin County jail in Farmington.
Nichols said Charles Brad Stokes and his wife, who live in Oquossoc village, talked to a young couple separately within 24 hours. When the Stokeses discussed their information about the couple later, they became suspicious because the stories they were told didn’t add up.
The Stokeses did a Google search for Kyle Bedow and found two stories about a 15-year-old girl from Grand Valley, Pa., who had been missing since Sept. 29. The information said she was in the company of Bedow and they had last been seen at her home with Bedow, who had warrants issued for his arrest.
Charles Stokes called Franklin County dispatchers Wednesday morning to inform them what he and his wife had learned. Dispatchers were told Bedow’s vehicle was parked at Koob’s Garage in Oquossoc and issued a bulletin out on it.
Deputy Burke located Bedow in Rangeley and arrested him on the Pennsylvania warrants charging interference with the custody of a child and third degree concealment of the whereabouts of a child, both felonies, Nichols said.
The case remains under investigation by Franklin County Lt. David St. Laurent. The report will be sent to the District Attorneys Office for review to determine if Franklin County will press charges against Bedow.
“Because the crime involves interstate travel the Maine State Police have been called into assist with the investigation,” Nichols said.
He credited “great communication and caring between Mr. and Mrs. Stokes . . . county communication personnel and Deputy Burke for ending the nine-day ordeal.”
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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