Newsmax crime correspondent Jason Mattera warned Monday that online gaming platforms are increasingly being used by predators after authorities say a Nebraska man drove nearly a day straight to Florida to abduct two minor girls he met through Roblox.
Mattera detailed the disturbing case during a special report on "Wake Up America," highlighting how investigators say the suspect groomed the girls online before traveling roughly 1,500 miles to pick them up.
Florida authorities say the victims were two sisters, ages 12 and 15, from Indiantown in Martin County.
According to investigators, the girls began communicating online over the summer with a 19-year-old man from Omaha, Nebraska, initially through the gaming platform Roblox and later through Snapchat.
Mattera reported that the family had been attentive and discovered the online conversations, confronting the girls and ordering them to cut off communication with the man.
Despite those efforts, authorities say the communication continued secretly until late January.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek described the evolving threat posed by online predators.
"So [in] the olden days, you worried about the white van that drove around the playground," Budensiek said. "Now the white van's driving around in your living room and your kid's bedroom while you think they're asleep."
According to investigators, the suspect drove approximately 23 hours from Nebraska to Martin County.
The girls arranged to meet him at a park on Jan. 31, though a family member spotted them and brought them back home, temporarily taking their phones as punishment.
Later that evening, around 8 p.m., the girls were discovered missing, prompting a call to law enforcement.
"At first, deputies believed they were dealing with a routine runaway situation," Mattera reported, noting officers initially suspected the girls had simply gone to a nearby friend's home.
But investigators soon determined the sisters had been picked up by the Nebraska man.
The break in the case came from a tech-savvy deputy who examined the family's iPad and reopened Snapchat, hoping the prior conversation might reappear.
"He was tech-savvy enough to know that there was a possibility if you reload Snapchat, maybe the conversation will pop back up," Mattera said.
The deputy successfully recovered the chat, which included a photo of the suspect taken at a Circle K convenience store.
That image helped investigators identify the suspect and track his movements.
Just after midnight on Feb. 1, the Georgia State Patrol stopped the suspect's vehicle in South Georgia with both girls inside.
Budensiek said authorities feared the situation could have turned far worse.
"I know nothing good was going to come out of a 19-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, driving 23 hours, 1,500 miles to Martin County, picking up two girls," he said.
The suspect now faces two counts of kidnapping and two counts of interference with child custody.
Mattera noted the case underscores growing concerns about online platforms used by children.
Budensiek urged parents to remain vigilant and watch for warning signs such as sudden personality changes, withdrawal, or secrecy.
"There's no shortage of these perverts that are out there willing to take advantage of our youth," the sheriff warned.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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