Kristin Jones, a 17-year-old girl reported missing in January, was located in Crestview on Wednesday.
Her boyfriend, Robert Ribarin, 28, was arrested and charged with kidnapping by interfering with the custody of a minor.
Jones’ mother last saw her Jan. 4 when her boyfriend, then known only as Bobby, picked her up from her house in Laurel Hill.
http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
Walton County Sheriff’s Investigator Randy Brown said he spoke to Ribarin, who lives in Crestview, several times during the investigation. Brown said Ribarin lied to him about his relationship with Jones and was not forthcoming about her whereabouts.
“He was made aware that she was a missing person,” Brown said.
He said the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office was able to follow up on some of his leads and conduct a more in-depth investigation because Ribarin lived in Crestview.
“They were a huge help in recovering her,” Brown said.
Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputies found Jones and Ribarin together at an apartment in Crestview on Wednesday.
A deputy contacted Brown to let him know Jones was safe and had been reunited with her mother, according to a Walton County Sheriff’s Office news release issued Friday.
Although Jones was found Wednesday, that information wasn’t made public until Friday.
Asked about the delay, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Wendy Ammons said the information was forwarded to her Thursday afternoon but she did not get permission to release it until Friday afternoon.
Ribarin was being held without bond in the Okaloosa County Jail on Friday.
