DETROIT РA 16-year-old girl who flew to the Middle East to see a man she met on MySpace.com was detained in Jordan and was headed home Friday, online an FBI spokesman said. U.S. officials persuaded Katherine Lester to take the return flight from Amman, stuff FBI Special Agent Robert Beeckman said from the agency̢??s Detroit office.
Lester had disappeared from her home in Gilford, in eastern Michigan, on Monday and apparently planned to visit a man whose MySpace account describes him as a 25-year-old from Jericho, said Tuscola County Undersheriff James Jashinske.The sheriffâ??s department contacted the FBI, which traced the teen to a flight from New York to Amman, Jashinske said. On Thursday night, her family received word from U.S. officials that she had been stopped as she arrived in Amman en route to Tel Aviv, Israel.
Lesterâ??s mother, Shawn Lester, said her daughter had persuaded her in April to help her get a passport so she could go on a two-week vacation to Canada with a friendâ??s family. On Sunday, they drove to a bus station for that trip, but the family didnâ??t show up. Shawn Lester said she called them, learned there was no trip and brought her daughter home. The next day, Katherine was gone.
Jashinske said it remained unclear whether any law had been violated. An online conversation with a 16-year-old is not illegal in Michigan, but solicitation for sex would be. He said deputies confiscated the familyâ??s home computer and were taking it to the FBIâ??s Bay City office Friday for analysis.FBI spokesman Brian Endrizal declined to provide any details and would not comment on the manâ??s identity or background. [source]
what the….?
I probably know the folks that handled this one at the Amman US Embassy. As a parent, to me this is part of the nightmare side of the internet…but why did it take them so long to check out her myspace? Another article said she was an easy child who caused no problems, but she sounds too well-versed in deceptive planning to carry this out as a first attempt.
kinzi, they had this dateline special on nbc a few weeks back about how parents have no idea what their kids are doing on the internet and they looked especially at myspace, getting an investigator to pose as a teenager and arrange to “hook up” with them. all of them went for it and it was a big group of tween girls if i recall correctly.
but to book a flight and fly all the way to Amman?!
lool that’s one for the records.
Nas, fun to be nearly in the same time zone!
The program you mentioned makes me especially glad my little American kids are being raised in Amman and the computer is in full view of the household. But, I will be asking my nieces and nephews to show me their myspace places; and making sure my siblings-in-law know how to check them. If anything will draw this technosaur out of the stone age, it will be my kids safety.
kinzi, that’s a responsible approach. but I guess at least Jordan is still galaxies away from the dangers and threats the American society poses for kids. Amman is a good place to grow up.
the funny yet sad part about this is, if the man is really 25, he probably thought of the situation as nothing that bad since in our culture women tend to get married at younger ages and some couples have a big age difference.
i just dont get myspace, really i dont. i understand blogs but myspace whats up with that. why is it so popular.
It’s the American Naseeb!
It’s very powerful. Easy to find buddies on and EVERYONE in the us are on it. It’s crazy! You’ll find all your friends, relatives, meet new people …etc .etc .etc … There are probably 500 myspace people to every blogger out there [don’t really know, but it certainly like it’s that widespread]
Where were the Dateline NBC and perverted justice folks? This show was AMAZING and SHOCKING at the same time. ALHAMDULILLAH no Arabs appeard on it, but one Turkish guy
escapism, for teenagers, especially for girls, is a known issue. they have been devoted rose-letters authors. (all those diaries with locks, and the hidden drawers). but the web strangely combines an established literary outlet (graphomania) with dubious real aspects. strange times…
My parents are moving us to Amman from Phoenix this year, for many reasons, but especially safety reasons like this. I don’t have a myspace because i agree with Linda, they are pretty pointless. They get alot of kids in trouble. I can’t wait to get get to Amman though, alot of people have told me that it’s a great place to grow up.
Linda, it really is. I mean at the very least you dont turn on your tv or open a newspaper every morning to hear about the 200 women who got raped last night or 200 guys who were shot. When I was 8 or 9 and visiting Jordan I never understood why my mother would let me stay out in the streets with my friends and cousins until 11pm or even 12 when curfew in canada was when the Sun came down. But its because parents dont have much to fear in Jordan.
“Where were the Dateline NBC and perverted justice folks? This show was AMAZING and SHOCKING at the same time. ALHAMDULILLAH no Arabs appeard on it, but one Turkish guy ”
Saudis or Afghans would appear on it if they were little boys that were the victims instead.
Iam thinking if i can lie to my parent. and run away like this!!
its easy for them a lot!! 🙁
I heard about this story on Fox News, the man called himself “Abdullah Psycho” looooool man the story was hilarious, i’m glad the girl is fine
i wanna see this girls myspace dude
Honestly i don’t agree with her running away from her home in Michigan but at the same time i can understand why she might have done it… if u thnk about it the situation is very controversial…he is a middle-eastern male and she is an American girl….not a lot of people would agree to their relationship…they dealt with the whole situation wrong but i can see where running away can be considered a solution for them to be together…..