JARED Drake Bell has been found safe just hours after police published a worrying plea for information on his whereabouts, fearing the actor was endangered.
The Daytona Beach Police Department confirmed to The U.S. Sun that officials were in contact with Bell and he is safe.
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Bell was found unharmed in Orange County at around 11.30am on Thursday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The U.S. Sun.
The actor will undergo a mental health evaluation as recommended by Orange County deputies.
The update comes after police said Bell was last seen on Wednesday evening driving a 2022 gray BMW near the area of Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, police said.
Bell appeared fine on Tuesday when he was spotted at Seaworld in Orlando with his son, Jeremy, a witness told TMZ.
The witness who approached Bell to tell him he was a fan said the actor responded in a “nice and soft-spoken manner.”
Bell first appeared on television at age five during an episode of Home Improvement.
He began working with Nickelodeon in 1999 on the comedy show The Amanda Show, starring alongside Amanda Bynes and Nancy Sullivan.
However, he rose to fame in 2004 when landed the starring role as Drake Parker in Drake & Josh.
The show revolved around two teenage stepbrothers, Drake and Josh Nichols. Josh was portrayed by actor Josh Peck.
In the show, the pair lived in San Diego, California, with Drake’s younger biological sister Megan and mother, Audrey, and Josh’s biological father, Walter.
Drake was considered the cool, popular, ladies man among the two teens, while Josh was the intellectual, clumsy, and awkward one.
The brothers were often involved in various comedic adventures, handling teenage problems and bumping heads with Drake’s sister Audrey.
The series received critical acclaim, with over three million viewers tuning into the show’s premiere.
TROUBLED STAR
However, Bell has had his share of troubles since his heydays on Nickelodeon.
In 2020, he was accused of verbal and physical abuse by his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt.
In a series of TikTok videos, Lingafelt claimed that Bell had been verbally and physically towards her when they lived together more than a decade ago when she was 16 years old, and he was 20.
“It wasn’t until about a year when the verbal abuse started,” she shared with her 72,000 TikTok followers in August 2020.
“And when I say verbal abuse, imagine the worst type of verbal abuse you could ever imagine, and that was what I got.
“It then turned into physical – hitting, throwing, everything. At the pinnacle of it, he [dragged] me down the stairs of our house… My face hit every step on the way down. I have photos of this.”
Lingafelt added that she didn’t “even want to get into the underage girl thing” and claimed, “I mean, I will, but I’m scared.”
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Bell denied Lingafelt’s claims and said he is “reviewing his legal options,” according to a statement he gave to People.
He said: “I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video.”
Bell added that when their relationship ended “more than a decade ago,” they “unfortunately, both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up. But that is it.
“I do not know if today’s behavior is some kind of misguided quest for more money or attention.
“But I cannot and will not allow these offensive and defamatory allegations to go unchallenged and I am reviewing my legal options.”
Most recently, Bell completed his probation over an attempted child endangerment case from 2021, to which he pled guilty.
Drake was arrested in Ohio in April 2021 for an incident that occurred years prior, in December 2017, where the actor was accused of sexual misconduct and grooming an underage fan.
The victim, who was 19 when she came forward, said the grooming began when she was 12.
She told an Ohio courtroom that her interactions with Bell became “blatantly sexual” after she turned 15.
The victim said Bell exchanged explicit photos online and engaged in sexual conduct with her on several occasions, including at a 2017 concert venue in Cleveland and at a hotel.
Bell kept silent about the ordeal for years, eventually pleading guilty in July 2021, and was sentenced to serve two years probation and 200 hours of community service in California.
BELL BREAKS HIS SILENCE
The former Nickelodeon star broke his silence in an Instagram video explaining why he pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges.
Bell acknowledged his interactions with the minor were “reckless and irresponsible” but claimed he was “unaware” of her age and denied sharing explicit images or having any physical contact with the victim.
“Most of the news you’ve heard recently is entirely false and wrong,” Bell began in the clip shared in September 2021.
“I feel that you deserve, and I owe you, an explanation.
“I know that this has moved very quickly for you, but for me, it’s been a three-year, thorough investigation into every false claim that has been made.
“And, it’s not me telling you that the claims are false, but the state of Ohio has proven the claims to be false.
“If these claims were remotely true, my situation would be very different. I would not be here at home with my wife and my son.”
Bell continued: “I responded to a fan whose age I didn’t know yet when I became aware of their age, all conversation and communication stopped.
“This individual continued to come to shows and pay for meet and greets, all while I was unaware that this was the same person I was communicating with online, and that’s what I plead guilty to.
“I want to make clear there were no sexual images, nothing physical between me and this individual,” Bell said, adding that he wasn’t charged with doing “anything physical” or “disseminating any photographs.”
He went on to explain why he pleaded guilty, saying: “I felt that this was the best way to get this over quickly, and for everyone involved to be able to move on and for me to get back to doing what I love, and that is making music for you.”
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