Alice Johnson was allegedly found with John Peter Byrns in a hotel room in Georgia. (FDLE/Bibb County Sheriff's Office)
An 11-year-old girl was found safe Sunday after she was allegedly kidnapped by a “child sexual predator” she met while playing a video game and who attempted to take her to his Illinois house before being stopped in Georgia, police said.
Alice Johnson was found safe at a Holiday Inn Express in Georgia about 5 p.m. Sunday, police said. Johnson disappeared sometime after 10 p.m. the night before from her East Orange County home. Her parents reported her missing after her parents went to wake Johnson up for church, but she was nowhere to be seen.
John Peter Byrns, 24, of Hoffman Estates, Ill., was arrested after authorities found him inside the hotel room with Johnson, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators said Byrns and Johnson met while playing the online game Minecraft, WESH reported.
“She was chatting with the individual through a game…within the game you can use a headset to chat with the people you’re actually playing with. So that’s how the first initial contact we believe was made,” an official said in a news conference on Monday.
11-year-old Alice Johnson was found Sunday evening after disappearing from her home in Florida. (FDLE)
Police also told WESH that Byrns disguised himself as a female to pull “her into a trap, so to speak.”
Johnson’s parents said they were aware their daughter was talking to an individual from Illinois, but did not know she was in danger at the time. Byrns and the 11-year-old then began talking through the phone. It’s unclear how long they were talking before Sunday’s incident.
Police said Byrns drove from Illinois, picked up Johnson down the street from her Florida house and attempted to bring her back to his home. Authorities are still looking into the incident, including if Johnson was taken against her will and if Byrns abused the girl.
Officials said Johnson was reunited with her parents Sunday night. She appeared to be in good condition and “okay from a physical standpoint.”
“I would say she’s lucky to be alive. She’s lucky that the circumstances are not any worse than what they are,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said Monday.
He called Byrns a “child sexual predator” based on the 24-year-old’s behavior. Byrns is expected to face charges.
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