The 16-year-old Bedford County girl missing since late Sunday night has been found, and the former sheriff’s deputy found with her faces abduction charges. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
[audio:http://wfirnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/11-09-Grubbs-McCombs-Wrap-WEB.mp3|titles=11-09 Grubbs-McCombs Wrap-WEB] It came at a traffic stop this morning on I-64 in eastern Kentucky. State Police say Ernest Grubbs and Audrey McCombs were both in Grubbs’ car, the stop coming just minutes after police learned the car was at a nearby gas station. Virginia State Police Captain George Austin says local investigators listened in on the stop in real time.
Police say Grubbs picked the teenage girl up at her home late Sunday night and the two took off. The two were seen the next morning in Lewisburg, West Virginia, but Captain Austin says investigators did not become aware of their whereabouts again until this morning.
Austin says Audrey McCombs is unharmed, and Grubbs faces abduction charges even if the teenage girl went willingly. Grubbs was free on bond at the time, already charged with taking indecent liberties in a custodial relationship. He was Liberty High School’s resource officer until he was arrested and fired last month. McCombs is a student at the school.