KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ( WATE ) — The suspect in the disappearance of a Knox County girl was a registered sex offender and had offenses dating back to the 2000s, according to national and state records.
Earlier this week, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office released that an 11-year-old girl went missing from a home in Halls, and on Thursday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an Endangered Child Alert.
Friday morning, the Tennessee Bureau of Information shared that the girl was found safe in Hamilton County near the Georgia state line, and the man suspected to be involved in her disappearance, Edward Dale Ahrens , 38, of Ringgold, Georgia, was killed during a confrontation with law enforcement.
Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk said this was a case of “a young child being lured by a sexual predator through social media that could have ended a young girl’s life.”
11-year-old missing from Knox County located, suspect in disappearance killed
WATE has discovered more information about the suspect, specifically that he was a registered sex offender.