DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jared “Drake” Bell, an actor best known as the star of the Nickelodeon television show “Drake & Josh,” was found safe Thursday, hours after Florida authorities said he was “missing and at risk.” .
Bell was in contact with police officers and was not in danger, Daytona Beach Police Department spokeswoman Carrie McCallister said in an email, without giving further details.
“At this point we can confirm that law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe,” McCallister said.
McCallister referred requests for more details to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, which did not respond to an email message.
Hours earlier, the police department issued a statement calling Bell “missing and at risk” and asking the public for help in locating him.
Before he was found Thursday noon, Bell was last seen Wednesday night near a Daytona Beach high school.
Representatives for the 36-year-old actor did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’s requests for comment.
Bell began acting as a child and rose to fame as a teenager with Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show and later Drake & Josh. The Nickelodeon show starring Bell and Josh Peck ran from 2004 to 2007 and was accompanied by two films. Since then, Bell has worked primarily as a voice actor, in addition to roles in little-watched television series and films. He also launched a music career.
In 2021 was Bell charged with child endangerment in relation to a girl who attended a concert of his in Cleveland in 2017 when she was 15 and had met him online years earlier. He pleaded guilty to a felony of attempted child endangerment and a charge of misdemeanor dissemination of substances harmful to minors and was convicted for a two-year probationary period. He was allowed to complete his probation and 200 hours of community service in California.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
