Hayleigh Wilson Update: Teen Spotted With Sex Offender At Walmart In North Carolina
The search for missing teen Hayleigh Wilson has spanned across multiple states, but the 14-year-old girl still hasn’t been found — neither has the 41-year-old sex offender believed to be traveling with her. WFMY News reports that the Tennessee teen was spotted at a Walmart store in Marion, North Carolina on Tuesday morning. This location is approximately 100 miles away from the teen’s home, but with it being Thursday morning the duo could be practically anywhere in the United States.
Hayleigh is 14-years-old and is described as a white female with medium length brown straight hair. She was reportedly last seen wearing a floral print top, according to the OakRidger. The 41-year-old man accused of transporting her is identified as Benjamin Shook, who is a registered sex offender from the state of Georgia. Shook drives a maroon 2004 Ford Explorer Trac with tag number D6020D. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, jeans and a camouflage baseball cap. He is currently absconding on a warrant out of Georgia for failing to register as a sex offender.
Hayleigh Wilson’s loved ones believe that the 14-year-old girl may have met Benjamin Shook off the popular app KIK, which many young people use on their phones to be social with friends and peers as well as strangers.
Why would a 14-year-old girl run off with a 41-year-old registered sex offender that she doesn’t even know? Believe it or not this isn’t a completely unheard of situation. Just this year a 16-year-old Virginia girl ran away with a 33-year-old man that she didn’t know in real life. Also this year, a 14-year-old girl reportedly ran away with her own uncle, a 31-year-old man. However, she wasn’t found alive. Both she and her uncle were found later with self-inflicted gunshots. In a more extreme case, a 13-year-old Missouri girl reportedly ran away from home to be with a 55-year-old man that she met online.
Hopefully Kayleigh Wilson will be located safe and well and out of the company of the 41-year-old registered sex offender accused of having her. At this point she is considered a runaway, but the urgency of this case and her young age put her at risk of being in serious danger.
If you’ve spotted either the suspect or the missing teen, or if you simply think you have information that might be of use to investigators, please do not hesitate to contact authorities in Surgoinsville at (423) 345-2316. You can also dial 911 or contact your local police if you are out of the state of Tennessee and you think you may have sighted the duo.
Photo: Police handout
