A man has now been charged with allegedly being involved in helping a runaway teen get out of town.
The man, 19-year-old Gabriel Stephen Gray, who lists a Yellville address, was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center Tuesday on charges of interfering with custody and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The contributing to the delinquency of a minor charge is a misdemeanor and interfering with custody is a Class C felony.
Gray’s charges are based on his alleged participation in getting 17-year-old-Aubrey Ann Halliday out of Mountain Home after she had gone to him and said she had run away from home.
In the probable cause affidavit released Wednesday, the female is listed as a “runaway juvenile.”
The girl was reported to have last been seen about 11:15 p.m. April 17 in the vicinity of Western Hills Lane.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the girl’s mother told investigators she woke up on the morning of April 18 and found her daughter was missing from the family’s home.
Notices were put out that the girl could not be found leading to missing and endangered child advisories being widely distributed.
Information on the missing teen was carried by media outlets throughout the area and shared with law enforcement agencies and others.
Because the missing girl and Gray had worked together at one point, Gray was one of the first people police interviewed about Halliday’s disappearance.
He was reported to have given a number of stories of his recent interactions with Halliday.
In none of his initial stories was he reported as saying that he was aware of Halliday’s current location. He was told that if she did contact him to let law enforcement know.
Gray made no reports to law enforcement, but, based on a citizen’s tip, Halliday was located in West Plains and returned to Mountain Home. Gray turned himself in at the Mountain Home Police Department Tuesday.
According to court records, Gray and the girl had been — or were in — some type of a dating relationship and had been co-workers at a local fast-food restaurant.
A petition to obtain an order of protection to keep Gray away from the girl was filed by a relative April 10, about seven days before she disappeared.
An initial hearing on that petition is set for later this month.
When Halliday was interviewed by police she said on the day she went “missing,” she had met Gray at the restaurant where they had worked and told him she had run away from home. She said Gray arranged for a ride to West Plains. The reason for selecting West Plains as a destination is not spelled out in the probable cause affidavit.
Gray’s first appearance in circuit court is scheduled for May 15.
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