Mystery of Missing Texas Dad Comes to a Close in Ohio

'He met somebody online,' Ohio police chief says of San Antonio's Lee Arms
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 20, 2017 1:48 PM CST
Missing Texas Dad Found Safe Weeks Later—in Ohio
Lee Arms.   (Heidi Search Center)

Super Bowl Sunday was the last time anyone saw Texas man Lee Arms in the San Antonio area, and he hadn't been seen since—until late last week, when the 44-year-old was found safe in Ohio, the San Antonio Express-News reports. And it looks like he was there of his own volition, per the Akron Beacon Journal. "He wanted to escape his life … and his situation," says Bath Township Police Chief Michael McNeely. That situation back in the Lone Star State includes having a wife and three kids (ages 19, 16, and 8, per the Karnes Countywide newspaper), and while McNeely didn't elaborate much on the case, he did offer something of a motive for why Arms chose Ohio as his new home, explaining to the Journal, "He met somebody online."

Arms' Ford Fusion was found Feb. 5 near a local interstate with its hazards blinking, his wallet and other personal items left behind. He was tracked down by the Heidi Search Center, US Marshals, and other agencies after a tip came in. The center's executive director tells the Journal it's "very rare" for a missing person to turn up this way, and despite the uncomfortable circumstances, McNeely said his department was at least glad they could tell Arms' wife and kids he was alive. While some back in San Antonio are breathing sighs of relief that Arms, a UPS worker, was never in harm's way, others are confused and angry. "As a community we deserve answers," one commenter wrote on the Heidi Search Center's Facebook post about Arms, adding, "You can't blame us for being upset." (A Colorado man disappeared from the stadium during a Broncos game.)

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