A 14-year-old teen from Washington State has been missing for three weeks after her mom said she met a man on the messaging platform Discord.
Ella Jones was last seen at her home in Mount Vernon, a city in Washington State on January 5. The missing girl’s mother, Sarah Merrill believed her daughter was talking to an older man online – someone in their 30s.
Merrill says she cannot bear to think of the nearby I-5 Corridor which she says is ‘the most heavily sex trafficked route in the world.’
The mom said that when she first learned Ella was talking to an older man she took away her phone and set up the parental controls giving her limited access, but said when her daughter found the phone she will still able to send messages using the TextNow app.
On Saturday January 6, she went to wake her daughter and start breakfast, but then saw that her daughter’s window was open and her daughter was no where in sight.
Ella Jones, 14, has been missing since January 6 after she left her Mount Vernon home with an older man she met online
Ella’s mom, 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 behind telling her she loved her but she had to go, as well as her cell phone, house keys and computer.
Merrill said when she rushed to her daughter’s friends she said many of her friends gave her conflicting information, but they all knew that she was talking to an older man online named Keith.
Her friends told Merrill that she had she been talking to him since October and that one of the kids 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 thinks her daughter was being groomed over the last few months.
‘This isn’t her. I think she is in danger and may be being held against her will. I am very worried ‘ Merrill said.
‘I don’t have any proof that is just my gut. I can’t make sense of any other option that this would be her choice to do this.’
She also said that she was ‘surprised that she didn’t take her phone after the extra-length she took in trying to find it.’
She add that her kind-hearted teen refers to most of her peers as her ‘friends’ and didn’t think she thought about the person she met online in a ‘romantic way.’
But is paralyzed with fear knowing that I-5 Corridor, an area notorious for sex trafficking is nearby which makes her daughter’s disappearance that more disturbing.
‘We live in between Portland and Vancouver, BC near the I-5 Corridor, the most heavily sex trafficked route in the world.
‘It is the highway that runs from Canada to Mexico – there are ports all over. I live an hour from the border.’
Merrill, who works as a chemist said that she is ‘trying not to spend too much time in that head space’ but said ‘it is alarming.’
‘The best case scenario at this point is that she is not being sex trafficked.’
She said after she filed a missing person’s report on January 6 with Mount Vernon PD and multiple agencies from different states are have been involved in the search.
The Missing Person Flyer that has been distributed all over Washington State
Ella Jones smiles in happier times with her Boston Terrier, Oran that her mom says has been crying since she went missing
She said there have been lots of tips coming in from all over – in the North or in the mountains or on the other side of the peninsula.
‘Investigators have gone into two different apartments, they pulled a bus over, they are actively engaged and looking for her.’
She said that Washington State has a huge homeless and drug epidemic on the streets, and though she is not thinking that her daughter is with that group she said that she has been relying on them for information.
‘They are outside all the time watching things and I have been speaking to some of them. They don’t want to see a kid out there.
‘It’s a big area it’s overwhelming. Lots of unsafe and unsavory neighborhoods and lots of tips are coming in from those areas that are very concerning.
She said her daughter has dark brown hair and brown eyes and a lean build. She stands at 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 125-130 pounds.
‘She has bangs and very distinct dimples,’ Merrill pointed out.
She was last seen wearing a multicolored plaid pajama pants and a black hooded sweatshirt and black sneakers, and carrying a large green backpack.
She was said her daughter took her electric toothbrush, her blowdryer, and her yarn and crocheting needles, and doesn’t believe she is wearing the same clothes as when she went missing.
Her mom said that Ella has three siblings and a half sister who she is close too, and a Boston Terrier named Oran, who has been crying and waiting for her to come home.
The Discord platform in an instant messaging and social platform that enables users to call, text or do video calls. TextNow is a mobile provider that offers free service once you download the app.
DailyMail.com contacted Mount Vernon Police who shared that there have been many tips coming in that they are investigating.
‘There has been lots of reports in these tips coming in but nothing yet that we have been able to use to find her,’ said Lieutenant Dave Shackleton.
‘We are evaluating each one that comes in but can’t give specifics on where the tips are coming but they’re coming from various places.’
He urged the public to call 911 immediately if there is a sighting of the teen, and to call the police department if they have any information on Ella’s disappearance.
‘It is going onto week three. Anytime, especially if there is a juvenile missing and they cease contact with family and friends that is very concerning.’
If anyone has any information Ella Jones whereabouts they are asked to contact the Mount Vernon Police at 1-360-428-3211.