SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Outrage is growing after a 16-year-old girl missing for 263 days was found alive inside the home of her 48-year-old former high school science teacher, a man police say lied to officers twice, refused to let them search, and is now facing only a first-degree misdemeanor.
Jobe Binkley called the teenager out of his West North Street house himself on August 21 when U.S. Marshals and Springfield police arrived. Court records say he had already been told she was an active missing person. He pleaded not guilty to interference with custody and was released on bond. A pretrial hearing is set for late September.
The girl ran away December 2, 2025, from Huckleberry House, a youth shelter in Columbus. She was last seen in a gray hoodie and black pants heading south. Her mother told Columbus police the teen was from Springfield and did not know the Columbus area. Family, local police, and the U.S. Marshals searched for months. Neighbors in Springfield heard the rumors. One woman two doors down, Danielle Flint, said she saw Facebook posts suggesting the girl might be inside Binkley’s home. She checked the yard and never spotted her.
“I’ve tried to peek around here and see if I can catch her, you know, in the back or maybe out of the house at night but I had never seen her,” Flint said. “For nine months, not being able to find your baby, is she dead, is she alive, is she okay. I cannot imagine.”Police had already knocked on Binkley’s door twice during the search. Both times, records state, he denied the girl was there and would not let officers inside. On the third visit, with Marshals present, he admitted it.
Binkley previously taught in the Springfield City School District. Personnel records show he was placed on administrative leave in November 2024 over concerns about professional interactions with students. The district later called those allegations unsubstantiated and allowed him to return. He was placed on leave again in January 2025 and fired the next month for violating technology-use policy. District officials say they were not told of any connection to this specific teenager until after he was already gone.
It remains unclear whether Binkley ever taught the girl. Local outlets have declined to name her to protect her privacy.
Former Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said the initial misdemeanor charge is common when investigators still need cooperation from the minor and a look at phones and other evidence. Additional charges could follow if a grand jury reviews the case. “If you have an adult trying to take advantage of a minor, oftentimes the only charge you might be able to lodge at the outset is an interference with custody,” O’Brien said.
Neighbors and online commentators have asked the obvious question: how does a missing child stay hidden for nearly nine months two doors down from people who heard the rumors, after police were turned away twice, and the adult involved walks out on a misdemeanor bond?
Binkley remains free pending his next court date. The girl was found alive. Investigators have not publicly detailed what happened inside the house during those 263 days.
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