William Sims (left) and Zevi Whittingham (Photos courtesy of Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)
Two area men are accused of picking up a runaway juvenile female and transporting her to Tennessee. Nineteen-year-old William Sims of Mammoth Spring and 22-year-old Zevi Whittingham are in the Douglas County Jail as they face a charge of kidnapping.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the report of the runaway came in just after 11:30 on the night of Jan. 21. A deputy was able to obtain potential suspects the female had been conversing with via social media and was possibly heading to Tennessee. The deputy was assisted by Ava officers as friends and witnesses came forward with information.
The juvenile had reportedly left her residence voluntarily during the overnight hours of Jan. 20 into the morning hours the following day. Another deputy had made a traffic stop that morning on a vehicle for a minor traffic infraction, and in conversation, he was reportedly told by the two male occupants there were heading to Tennessee. The deputy obtained identifiers on both subjects, and it was later determined Sims and Whittingham were allegedly on their way to pick the juvenile up at the time of the stop.
The juvenile had reporedly turned her phone off, but the information about the males’ identities allowed authorities to obtain a ping on their cell phones. Sims, Whittingham and the female were located in Tennessee, and they were taken into custody by Tennessee authorities nearly six hours after being reported missing.
A warrant was obtained for Sims and Whittingham, and they were extradited back to Missouri. Bond for each is set at $50,000.
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