Police are desperately hunting for a missing teenage girl who is believed to be travelling with a convicted sex offender more than 20 years her senior, according to reports.
Autumn Van Zandt, 17, hasn’t been seen since Tuesday when she was spotted in Fredericksburg with 39-year-old Ronnie Keene Reel, and police suspect they may try to travel out of state.
Van Zandt is believed to be “missing under voluntary circumstances,” police said, but her young age and suspected company have left family terrified.
The age of consent in Virginia is 18.
Reel has a terrifying history of sexual violence — he confessed to sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in 2021.
But he was cut loose on a plea deal after prosecutors with Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano’s office failed to meet crucial evidence deadlines in his case, ABC 7 reported.
“Please help us find Autumn,” the Fredericksburg Police Department said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Van Zandt is five-foot, seven-inches, about 135 pounds and has brown eyes and hair.
She also has a heart tattoo on her hip, and was last seen in jean shorts and a black top.
The family of Reed’s 2021 victim said they were “heartbroken” by reports that he might be preying on another child.
“I am praying for the family, and I hope to God she comes home,” the mother said. “I just pray to God you find your little girl because she deserves nothing more than a home in her family’s arms.”
She also accused prosecutors who handled her family’s case in 2021 of being to blame for the current situation with Reel.
“We had everything in line,” she said. “He was looking at life in prison for what he did to him, and with one simple mistake of failing to file paperwork, he was let go.”
“He only got an assault battery charge, that’s it, nothing more. He didn’t have to register as a sex offender. He doesn’t have to do anything. And look what’s happening now. He walks free, and my child did not get any justice whatsoever,” she said.
The judge handling Reel’s case at the time agreed, court documents obtained by ABC 7 showed.
“It’s very frustrating to the Court,” Fairfax County Chief Judge Penney Azcarate said at the time, adding that evidence deadlines were “woefully, woefully missed in this case.”
The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.