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Last updated on Wednesday, July 8, 2015
(WASHINGTON) - The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on the whereabouts of 14-year-old, critically missing child Hayleigh Wilson, believed to be in the company of a known sex offender, Benjamin Shook.
Witnesses reported seeing Wilson, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee, in the company of 41-year-old Shook in Sugar Grove, Virginia on June 24. She is white with brown hair and hazel eyes, and wears glasses. She stands approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds.
Shook is a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, and wears glasses. He stands 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds. Shook has a scar on his left leg and multiple tattoos on his arms, legs and chest. He may not be wearing eyeglasses at this time.
Marshals in the Eastern District of Tennessee also want Shook for failure to register as a sex offender.
Shook was last seen with Wilson near a campground in Sugar Grove where an unsuspecting driver dropped them off after picking them up earlier. Marshals believe that the girl met Shook online.
"The Marshals Service is fully engaged and partnering with local authorities in recovering this critically missing child," said U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton. "Shook is a known sexual predator and a threat to Hayleigh and others. We need the public's help to apprehend Shook and safely recover Hayleigh."
President Obama recently signed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act on May 29, giving the USMS new authority to assist state, local and other federal law enforcement agencies, upon request, in locating and recovering missing children. This act allows the USMS to immediately support missing child cases.
Through partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the USMS has assisted in the recovery of 602 missing children since 2003.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals Service office or the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102.
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