SHELBY – A juvenile missing from Shelby over the weekend has officially been located in Texas, according to the Shelby Police Department.
Samuel Baker, a 17-year-old student from Shelby High School who also attends Pioneer Career & Technology Center, was located by a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper outside of Amarillo, Texas on Monday evening.
According to a joint release from the Shelby Police Department, Shelby City Schools and Pioneer, police were notified that Baker was found at around 10 p.m. on Monday evening. No firearm was found in Baker’s possession or in the vehicle.
“Sam is safe and was with an adult male, also from Shelby,” police stated. “Because that male is not currently charged with a crime, we are not releasing his identity.”
Baker is currently in custody and will be transported to an appropriate facility until arrangements can be made to return him to Richland County. A warrant for a runaway was issued on Monday by Richland County Juvenile Court.
Baker was initially reported missing on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. by his parents. At the time, police believed that Baker was in possession of a firearm.
As a result, Shelby Superintendent Tim Tarvin jointly decided with Pioneer Superintendent Greg Nickoli to close school on Monday as a precaution. No threat was ever made on the schools.
Now that Baker has been located, Tarvin stated both Shelby City Schools and Pioneer Career & Technology Center will officially be open on Tuesday.
“Thank you to the Shelby Police Department for their fantastic work, and thank you to the Shelby community for their wonderful support,” Tarvin stated on Monday evening.
The Shelby Police Department also handed out kudos to Sgt. Aaron Bushey, Officer John Guisinger, Officer Bruce Hartz and Dispatcher Shannon Small who searched for Baker throughout the night, and interviewed a number of people for a lead on Baker’s whereabouts. The department also mentioned Capt. Dave Mack for his “tireless and thankless” work gathering leads and information.
“Pioneer School Resource Officer Paul Zehner spent the day speaking with nearly every student in Sam’s lab and also developed invaluable information for the case,” police stated.
Other agencies that assisted in locating Baker include the United States Marshal Service, Cleveland Office and specifically Senior Inspector Deputy US Marshal Brian Fitzgibbon, Deputy US Marshal Ryan Helfrich and Deputy US Marshal Bill Boldin, and Lt. Amy Ivy, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Mansfield Post.
“We are thankful to have such a positive relationship with both the Shelby City Schools and Pioneer Career and Technology Center, with a free flow of information both ways that allowed us room to work and also allowed us to provide up-to-date information to the school superintendents to make informed decisions,” the release stated.
