13 April 2023
(WFLA) — Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell, known for his role on the network’s hit show “Drake & Josh,” was reported missing on Thursday by the Daytona Beach Police Department.
Bell, whose legal name is Jared Drake Bell, was last seen on Wednesday just before 9 p.m., in the area of Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, police said.
Bell is believed to be traveling in a grey 2022 BMW.
“He is considered missing and endangered,” the department wrote on Facebook.
“For those asking, this is a legitimate post from the Daytona Beach Police Department,” the department later clarified, presumably in response to commenters questioning the accuracy of the alert.
Anyone with information on Bell’s disappearance is asked to contact Detective Jayson Wallace at (386) 671-5207 or [email protected].
In 2021, Bell pleaded guilty to attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles stemming from an incident in December 2017, when Bell was scheduled to play at the Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland, Ohio.
The victim, a 15-year-old girl at the time, filed a report with police in Canada regarding a situation she said happened with Bell the night of the concert.
The girl said they maintained a relationship online for a while before the messages turned “blatantly sexual.”
“He is a monster and a danger to children,” the teen later said at a court hearing.
Bell apologized for the incident saying his “conduct was wrong.”
“I’m sorry the victim was harmed in any way, but that was not my intention,” Bell said. “I want to apologize to her.”
He was sentenced to one year on attempted child endangerment and six months on disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.