Savannah Childress, 14, was reported missing on Feb. 11 from her home in southern Davidson County. During the investigation, it was discovered that she had used her computer issued by the school to talk to an individual online.
The investigation revealed that the same individual had been chatting with several other young girls in Alamance County.
A man identified as William Robert Ice, of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, took Savannah from her home in Denton, according to the Sheriff’s Office in Davidson County.
The sheriff’s office in Davidson County obtained a warrant for the abduction of a child and a computer through a computer.
With the help of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Marshals Service of the United States and Pennsylvania State Police indicated that Ice was in the areas of a McDonalds in Lonoke County, Arkansas near I- 40 was.
According to Arkansas police, two officers spotted a Dodge matching the case in a McDonald’s parking lot around 8 p.m. Saturday. The officers approached and found two people inside.
The driver, who was later identified as Ice (38), first heard it, but then fired a gun at officers and, according to Arkansas police, started firing. An officer was critically injured. The second officer fired back when Ice got back into the car and fled.
An Arkansas state troop in the area heard the officer’s report and chased behind Ice’s car through Lonoke along the Arkansas freeway until the Dodge crashed into a snow bank. The 14-year-old fled the car and was secured by a soldier. Inside the SUV, Ice was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ice later died at Little Rock Hospital.
It has been discovered that Ice is being sought by Pennsylvania law enforcement in connection with other predator cases.
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Special agents at the Arkansas Police Station are preparing a file that will be handed over to the Lonoke County Prosecution Attorney, who will decide whether the use of lethal force by law enforcement is in accordance with Arkansas laws.
Savannah returned to her home in North Carolina later Sunday.
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