LOGAN, Ohio — What began as a routine response to a single-vehicle crash on U.S. Route 33 in the early morning hours of April 5 ended with a registered sex offender in custody and a missing 12-year-old girl from North Carolina safe — after Hocking County deputies grew suspicious of the circumstances and kept asking questions.
Deputies with the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene to find the driver, Virgil E. Larson Jr., 45, a registered sex offender out of Fairfield County, accompanied by a female passenger. Something did not add up. Deputies conducted further questioning, and the investigation quickly took a disturbing turn.
The passenger was a 12-year-old girl who had been reported missing from her home in North Carolina the previous evening.
According to Hocking County Sheriff Lanny E. North, investigators believe Larson targeted the child through a social media platform, where he created a fake profile and portrayed himself as a male of her age group. He allegedly used that false identity to lure her away from home.
The scheme had an additional layer. Because the victim was a minor without a driver’s license, Larson allegedly arranged for his own father to transport the girl to Ohio under false pretenses — using a fabricated story to move her across state lines.
Deputies made contact with the juvenile’s parents, who confirmed the missing person report. Both Larson and the child were transported to area hospitals for evaluation. Larson was subsequently transported to the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail, where he is being held on kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and resisting arrest, a second-degree misdemeanor.
The Hocking County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the ongoing investigation with law enforcement in Athens County, Stokes County in North Carolina, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Additional charges are possible as the investigation continues.