Two West Plains men each face a Douglas County charge of first-degree kidnapping while facilitating a felony after allegedly taking a 16-year-old girl from Douglas County to Tennessee.
Zevi J. Whittingham, 22, and William A. Sims, 19, were arrested in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and are being held with $50,000 bond each on a Douglas County warrant, according to court records. In his complaint seeking charges, Douglas County Prosecutor Matthew Weatherman noted the victim was unable to consent due to her age, and the alleged kidnapping was conducted in order to “facilitate the felony of Statutory Rape 2nd Degree.” Neither the prosecutor’s complaint nor the probable cause statement submitted in seeking charges elaborates on the rape allegation.
Douglas County Deputy Shawn Wilson reported that late the evening of Jan. 21, the father of the teen girl came to the sheriff's department to report her missing, telling law enforcement he last saw her about 10:30 the night before, and the next morning, he found the window to her room open. She was missing, he said, along with some of her personal items.
He added he had waited to make a report because she had gone missing before, but always returned after a few hours, and said she had her cell phone with her but it had been turned off. The father also stated he had been in contact with Whittingham, who he knew as a 22-year-old from West Plains his daughter had been talking to, and was told by the suspect Whittingham was in another state working and hadn't seen the girl. Wilson stated he used the girl's phone number and requested it be located with a ping, and it last showed a location of Charleston, Mo., about 216 miles east of Ava, near the Mississippi River and southern Illinois and western Tennessee state lines.
During his investigation, Wilson learned from Deputy Aaron Box that Whittingham and Sims, his passenger, were in a vehicle Box had stopped at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, and Whittingham said he and Sims were on their way to Tennessee. When the vehicle was released from the stop, Box added, it headed south on Highway 5, traveling in the direction of the girl’s home.
Wilson used Whittingham's cell phone number to ping a location near some hotels in Murfreesboro, and made a request with the police department there to attempt contact with Whittingham, Sims and the girl.
The Murfreesboro Police Department reported a short time later that all three had been located, the teen was being transported to a juvenile detention center and the suspects were in custody being held pending formal charges out of Douglas County.
As of Tuesday afternoon, neither suspect has secured legal representation and court appearances have not been set, according to court records.
