Man accused of concealing a missing teenager in Boalsburg, police say
.jpg "A Boalsburg man faces charges after police said he concealed the whereabouts of a missing teen from Lackawanna County.")
State College police found a 17-year-old girl who had been reported missing since Sunday at a Boalsburg home and arrested a man they said concealed her whereabouts.
Michael G. Gnudi, 34, of Luzerne County, was arrested Thursday after borough police found the teen hiding under a pile of blankets in a bedroom on the 700 block of Boal Avenue.
Borough police officers were contacted Monday by a police department in Lackawanna County that was attempting to find the girl, who was believed to be in the State College area and in a romantic relationship with Gnudi.
She left her cellphone at the steps of a friend’s house in an attempt to elude her father, but a detective said her location was shared through Snapchat and showed she was near the Walmart on Benner Pike.
Officers found the vehicle she was reported to be traveling in outside the Boal Avenue home, where police said Gnudi was shaking after they told him they were investigating a missing person report. He consented to a search of the home and police said the teen was found in a bedroom that Gnudi was attempting to direct officers away from.
Gnudi initially told officers he did not know who the girl was, but later said she contacted him for help, police wrote. Her belongings were found in his vehicle.
The exact nature of their relationship is unclear. Her father told police the relationship has been an ongoing issue and that his daughter was “brainwashed” that Gnudi is in love with her. The affidavit of probable cause included a mention of potential sex trafficking, though the teen told police she fabricated the accusation to get removed from a treatment facility.
There is an ongoing investigation in Lackawanna County, borough police wrote.
During an interview with borough police, the teen said she and Gnudi had discussed for the past week a plan for her to run away and stay at the Boal Avenue residence. She said she attempted to run away before and had been planning to do so for years, police wrote.
She has since been returned to her father in Lackawanna County, borough police wrote Friday in a press release.
Gnudi was charged with felony counts of concealment of the whereabouts of a child and interfering with the custody of a child, as well as a misdemeanor count of corruption of a minor.
He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Allen Sinclair, who set bail at $50,000. Gnudi is incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.