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On Wednesday, December 27, Nebraska authorities rescued Evan McConney, a 13-year-old boy who was reported missing by his family on Tuesday.
As per KSL News Radio, authorities recovered Evan McConney after a gas station attendant informed police that the teen was traveling with 26-year-old Aaron Zemen, who is suspected to have kidnapped him.
ABC reported that suspect Aaron Zemen, who also uses the names Hunter Fox and Tadashi Kojima, is an Arizona man who had reportedly been communicating with Evan McConney through an Oculus gaming device. Zemen is believed to have taken the 13-year-old Evan from his Layton home before they were found nearly 800 miles away, at a Grand Island gas station.
Authorities investigate the alleged abduction of Evan McConney
As per Fox, Leyton police believe that Aaron Zemen had reportedly enticed Evan McConney over an online game before convincing the 13-year-old to leave with him without the consent of his parents. Lt. Travis Lyman of the Leyton Police stated that under Nebraska law, this is considered kidnapping.
Evan McConney's mother, Heather McConney, said that she last saw the 13-year-old on Monday night, which is when Zemen is suspected of having kidnapped him. Heather said that she had reported Aaron Zemen to Leyton authorities in the past, after she went to them in late November to accuse the suspect of communicating with her son.
Lt. Travis Lyman reported that despite Heather McConney's attempts to stop Zemen from speaking to Evan, the alleged kidnapper reportedly found new ways to talk to the 13-year-old.
Lyman said:
"She had brought in his phone and we had that and had we're going through issuing subpoenas and investigative requests with Twitter and text now and other places to try and identify the suspect."
Lyman went on to thank the vigilant gas station clerk who reported the location of Zemen and Evan McConney to authorities. The police Lt. said that the clerk saw the pair from his store and deemed the situation suspicious, as they were reportedly waiting in the vehicle for an extended period of time.
Lyman said:
"We are grateful that they that this person was paying attention and saw that this car was and the people in it were hanging around longer than they should have."
In an interview with Fox 13, Heather McConney described the moment she discovered her son had been found.
She said:
"It was sometime between three and four this morning. We were told, hey, come pick up your son as soon as you can...I wasn't wasting another second."
She went on to describe the moment she was reunited with her son.
She said:
"Other than just giving a big hug and not letting go, I don't even know what, I don't know what to say to him right now, 'I love you,' that's all that matters honestly."
The charges against Aaron Zemen have not yet been confirmed.
