Drake Bell, a former child star who was reported "missing and endangered" the night before he was discovered safe, finally spoke out about his whereabouts and his condition on Thursday, April 13.
A Facebook post by the Daytona Beach Police Department revealed that Jared Drake Bell had gone missing. On Wednesday, April 12, the department shared a picture of Bell and said he was last seen near the Mainland High School area.
As a response, Bell took to Twitter and wrote this: "You leave your phone in the car and don't answer for the night and this?"
The 'Missing' Report
The Daytona Beach Police Department said in a missing person's post on its official Facebook page that the Drake & Josh star was last spotted in the neighborhood of Mainland High School at about 8:50 PM on Wednesday night in a gray BMW 2022.
In a follow-up remark, the agency clarified, "For those asking, this is a legitimate post from the Daytona Beach Police Department."
After a few hours, as Fox News reported, Bell was located and discovered to be in good condition.
Four hours later, the agency posted an update, saying, "At this time, we can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe."
Encounters With Law Enforcement
Bell has had many run-ins with the police.
In 2016, he was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). In 2021, he entered a guilty plea in Ohio on two offenses that involved a minor.
The star of The Fairly OddParents faces felony charges of attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor count of spreading material negative to kids.
Two years of probation and 200 hours of community service in California were given to Bell. Most importantly, he is forbidden from speaking with the victim in any way.
After he finishes his probation, the court will decide whether or not to label him a sex offender.
In other news, Bell's ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt accused him of verbal and physical abuse in the year 2020. In her words, the verbal assault was "the worst" someone could "ever imagine."
"It then turned into physical: hitting, throwing, everything," Lingafelt stated. "At the pinnacle of it, he [dragged] me down the stairs of our house in Los Feliz. My face hit every step on the way down. I have photos of this. I don't even want to get into the underage girls' thing."
Bell as an Actor
According to ABC News, the part of Drake in Drake & Josh, which the 36-year-old actor played from 2004 to 2007, was one of Nickelodeon's successful programs during that time period.
Since then, he has made a number of guest appearances and has had a recurrent voice role as Peter Parker or Spider-Man in many animated series, including Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-2017), Avengers Assemble, and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
