Tyler Thomas is an alleged predator from Ohio who has been charged in the case of missing seventeen year old Hailey Buzbee from Indiana
According to police reports Tyler Thomas met Hailey Buzbee through an online gaming platform and the two would agree to meet. Soon after the Hamilton Southeastern High School student would go missing
Surveillance cameras in the area where Hailey Buzbee was last seen would show a vehicle which was later linked to Tyler Thomas
Tyler Thomas would be arrested and has been charged with pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and tampering with evidence
The body of Hailey Buzbee would be discovered in central Ohio after Tyler Thomas led FBI agents to the site
Needless to say the chances of Tyler Thomas being charged in the death of Hailey Buzbee is expected within days
Tyler Thomas News
The body of a missing Fishers teenager is believed to have been found in central Ohio, according to the attorney for a person of interest in her death.
Sam Shamansky, the attorney for 39-year-old Tyler Thomas, said on Feb. 2 that authorities believe they have found the body of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee in Perry County.
Shamansky said Thomas led the FBI to Buzbee’s body on Feb. 1. The defense attorney said he anticipates a homicide charge, possibly murder, being filed in Hocking County.
The Columbus Police Department confirmed on Feb. 2 that additional charges from the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office are expected.
Thomas, of Victorian Village, Ohio, is currently charged in Franklin County Municipal Court with pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and tampering with evidence. According to court records, a search of Thomas’s phone included sexually oriented videos and photos of Buzbee, some of which Thomas tried to delete.
Buzbee, who lived in Fishers and attended Hamilton Southeastern High School, was last seen by her parents on Jan. 5. She is believed to have met Thomas through an online gaming platform and voluntarily left her home to meet him. Police in the Indianapolis suburb said a vehicle in the area at the time Buzbee left her home was traced back to Thomas.
A neighbor on Thomas’ block spoke with the Columbus Dispatch on Feb. 2 but asked not to be named. She said that investigators were at his home on either Jan. 20 or 21. She said that she saw police cruisers and an investigator left a business card at her door, requesting security camera footage.
The neighbor said she had never interacted with Thomas or a woman who lived with him. She saw him outside once, rolling a garbage can, but they did not speak.
The neighbor said she assumed police were investigating a break-in or similar crime, and said it was “horrible” and “a shock” to learn he was connected to Buzbee’s disappearance.
Judge orders $1.5 million bond for Thomas
Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Jim O’Grady set a $1.5 million bond for Thomas on Jan. 31, before Thomas appeared for any hearing.
Court records say Thomas was furloughed, or released temporarily, to the FBI for investigative purposes on Feb. 1 and was then returned to the Franklin County jail.
Thomas appeared for a bond hearing on Feb. 2 in Municipal Court. Judge Jarrod Skinner kept the $1.5 million bond in place and ordered Thomas to have no Internet access or unsupervised visits with minors should he post that and be released, court records say.
Officials spoke with Thomas within a few days of Buzbee’s disappearance. Thomas reportedly told detectives he had dropped Buzbee off on the side of the road in western Ohio but an investigation determined that was not true.
Buzbee was initially classified as a runaway, but her case was upgraded to an “endangered missing juvenile” on Jan. 20.
Police searched Thomas’ vehicle and home on Jan. 21 and found evidence Buzbee had been there, as well as at a short-term rental in Hocking County. Thomas has not been charged with murder, according to court records in Franklin, Hocking and Perry counties.
Body of missing Fishers teen Hailey Buzbee found in Ohio, attorney says
