Disgraced Teacher's Home Reveals Missing Teen After 263-Day Search

After disappearing for 263 days, a 17-year-old schoolgirl has been located safe and sound at the residence of Jobe Binkley, 48, a former science teacher with the Springfield City School District. The teenager reportedly absconded from the Huckleberry House crisis shelter in Columbus on December 2, 2025. Throughout her disappearance, the girl's family consistently directed law enforcement to Binkley's home, and they are now alleging that the ex-teacher groomed the vulnerable young girl.

Chelsi Warner, who is the mother of the victim's half-sister, revealed to The Post that Binkley initiated grooming the teen approximately two years prior, following their first encounter at school. Warner, who has previously accommodated the victim, stated, “She’s had a troubled history with her mother and this groomer took advantage of a girl looking for a parental figure.” She further expressed her dismay, adding, “It’s absolutely disgusting … and she’s so groomed and brainwashed by that man that she doesn’t see what he’s done to her.” The family also noted that the girl had previously fled to Binkley's house last year.

Binkley has since been apprehended and faces one count of interference with custody, classified as a first-degree misdemeanor. He was subsequently granted bail. Despite his not guilty plea, the prosecutor expressed regret that more severe charges could not be pursued without the active collaboration of the teenager.

It emerged that Binkley, who had a history of facing accusations of improper conduct involving students, had twice refused police access to his residence during the initial investigation into the teen's vanishing. However, on August 21, a special task force from the US Marshals successfully gained entry and discovered the girl alive within the premises, as reported by ABC 6. Warner conveyed her profound frustration, highlighting that her family had persistently informed authorities over the preceding nine months that the girl was at Binkley's home. She further revealed that a relative had even supplied the Springfield Police Department with images of the victim inside the house. "I’m very upset with this situation," Warner stated. "We had photos of her in the house holding guns, and we know about the allegations from other students against this man, but we were always told there’s not enough evidence yet."

This was not the first time the teen had disappeared; she was previously reported missing last November and was reportedly found days later residing with Binkley, as indicated by social media posts from family and friends. Binkley himself was placed on administrative leave in November 2024, followed by another in January 2025, before being dismissed by the school the subsequent month for infringing upon the district's technology usage policy.