DETROIT — A 16-year-old girl who flew to the Middle East to see a man she met on MySpace.com was detained in Jordan and was headed home Friday, an FBI spokesman said.
U.S. officials persuaded Katherine Lester to take the return flight from Amman, FBI Special Agent Robert Beeckman said from the agency's Detroit office.
Katherine had disappeared from her home in Gilford, in eastern Michigan, on Monday and apparently planned to visit a man whose MySpace account describes him as a 25-year-old from Jericho, said Tuscola County Undersheriff James Jashinske.
The sheriff's department contacted the FBI, which traced the teen to a flight from New York to Amman, Jashinske said. On Thursday night, her family received word from U.S. officials that she had been stopped as she arrived in Amman en route to Tel Aviv, Israel.
Katherine's mother, Shawn Lester, said her daughter had persuaded her in April to help her get a passport so she could go on a two-week vacation to Canada with a friend's family.
On Sunday, they drove to a bus station for that trip, but the family didn't show up. Shawn Lester said she called them, learned there was no trip and brought her daughter home. The next day, Katherine was gone.
Jashinske said it remained unclear whether any law had been violated. An online conversation with a 16-year-old is not illegal in Michigan, but solicitation for sex would be. He said deputies confiscated the family's home computer and were taking it to the FBI's Bay City office Friday for analysis.
FBI spokesman Brian Endrizal declined to provide any details and would not comment on the man's identity or background.
photo & story courtesy chron.com, 6/9/06
20Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; whoever walks with fools will suffer harm.
WHAT DOES TODAY'S SCRIPTURE TEACH US ABOUT CHOOSING FRIENDS?
Friends can make us or break us. We must be careful whom we choose as our closest friends.
The teenage girl from Michigan made a poor choice in getting to know the twenty-five-year old man from Jordan. She lied to her parents to go see the man. Thankfully, the authorities found her before what might have been a very sad ending to a disturbing story.
This does not mean that followers of Christ should not become friends with unbelievers. That's the best of way to communicate Christ's love. But we must be smart about who we hang out with.
Ask yourself if unbelievers are being drawn to Jesus because of your friendship, or are you being pulled away from Christ by them?
Are your closest friends people who want to be close to Jesus?
- Write out an honest evaluation of your friendships. List your 10 closest friends. Which ones are helping you become like Jesus? Which ones are not? Are you making progress in helping them learn about Christ's love or are they pulling you away from Christ?
- Spend some time with an older Christian friend who can share Godly wisdom with you. If you don't have a friend like this, pray for God to bring this kind of friend into your life.
- If you are a MySpace user, evaluate if it is a positive or negative influence in your relationship with Jesus.
Daily Devos is published Monday through Friday. Archives can be found at YFC.ORG. Its purpose is to help you apply truths from God's Word every day.
Our writer, Byron Emmert, has been involved with Youth For Christ for 30 years. He's served as Campus Life Staff, as a writer, and in leadership for the DCLA Conferences. Byron is married to Linda and their family includes two married sons and daughters-in-law, and a daughter in college. He loves sports, deep dish pizza, and spending time with his family.