Actor Drake Bell is "safe" after he was reported missing in Florida. The Daytona Beach Police reported Bell as missing and endangered on Thursday. The former Nickelodeon star has had trouble over the years, including filing for bankruptcy in 2014, being arrested for a DUI in 2016 and allegedly abusing a woman he had been in a relationship with. In 2021, he also pleaded guilty to attempted child endangerment and spread matter harmful to juveniles during a court case in Ohio.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jared “Drake” Bell, an actor best known as a star of the Nickelodeon television show “Drake & Josh,” was found safe on Thursday, hours after authorities in Florida said he was “missing and endangered.”
Bell was in touch with police officers and wasn’t in danger, Daytona Beach Police Department spokesperson Carrie McCallister said in an email, without providing further details.
“At this time we can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe,” McCallister said. McCallister referred requests for further details to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, which didn’t respond to an emailed message.
Hours earlier, the police department put out a statement declaring Bell “missing and endangered” and asked the public for help in locating him.
Before being found mid-day Thursday, Bell was last seen Wednesday night near a Daytona Beach high school. Representatives for the 36-year-old actor did not immediately reply to The Associated Press’ requests for comment.
Bell began acting as a child and was catapulted to fame as a teen with Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” and later “Drake & Josh.” The Nickelodeon show starring Bell and Josh Peck ran from 2004 until 2007, and was accompanied by two movies. Since then, Bell has mostly worked as a voice actor in addition to roles in little-seen TV series and movies. He also launched a music career.
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