By KATY DONINGER & CAT SANDOVAL
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Investigators have located the body of Hailey Buzbee, a missing 17-year-old girl from Fishers.
Buzbee’s remains were found Sunday in Perry County, Ohio, according to attorney Sam Shamansky. Shamansky represents 39-year-old Tyler Thomas, the primary suspect in Buzbee’s disappearance.
Shamansky told News 8’s Garrett Bergquist that Thomas led investigators “directly to Buzbee’s remains.”
Police said Sunday that Thomas, of Columbus, Ohio, admitted to picking up Hailey Buzbee at her home in Fishers in January and driving her to Ohio. Investigators believe Thomas and Buzbee met through online gaming.
Thomas faces felony charges of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and tampering with evidence. The charges are not directly tied to Buzbee’s death. Additional charges could be filed.
On Monday, a judge set bond for Thomas at $1.5 million. If he posts bond, he will be barred from unsupervised visits with minors and will not be allowed to access the internet.
Court records show Thomas has a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
In a Sunday press conference, Fishers Police Department officials said they believed Buzbee was deceased.
“It pains me today to let you know that, after an extensive investigation, we feel that Hailey is deceased,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.
The mayor said he spoke with Hailey’s family.
“Their wish was truly to express what an incredible human being Hailey was,” Fadness said. “She was a bright light in the family. She was a wonderful big sister. She had a tremendous promise and hope.”
On Facebook, Hailey’s father Beau Buzbee wrote, “Hailey was a smart, beautiful, kind, and caring young lady with a bright future. She had a deep love for her family and holds a very special place in so many hearts. Our family is devastated. We want the community and others to know that we are so thankful for the support we received. It’s been tremendous and gave us the hope and strength we needed during our darkest hours.”
Police say Buzbee was at Thomas’ home in Columbus, Ohio, and a short-term rental in Hocking County, Ohio.
“Our detectives identified Thomas as the suspect she left with,” said Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart. “We made contact with him in Ohio, and he admitted to picking Hailey up in her home.”
Thomas is being held at the Franklin County Jail in Columbus, Ohio.
On Sunday, Hailey’s father posted about his hopes to create an alert for missing people when there are credible risk indicators called a “Pink Alert” or “Hailey’s Law.” Hailey was initially classified as a runaway, so no alert was issued.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/fishers-police-missing-17-year-old-girl-believed-to-be-dead.
