Body of missing teen Hailey Buzbee found in Ohio, attorney says

Body of missing teen Hailey Buzbee found in Ohio, attorney says

Bethany Bruner and Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star

Mon, February 2, 2026 at 5:46 PM UTC

2 min read

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The body of a missing Indiana teenager is believed to have been found in central Ohio, according to the attorney for a person of interest in her death.

Sam Shamansky, the attorney for 39-year-old Tyler Thomas, said on Feb. 2 that authorities believe they have found the body of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee in Perry County.

Shamansky said Thomas led the FBI to Buzbee's body on Feb. 1.

Thomas, of Columbus, Ohio, has been charged with pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and tampering with evidence. According to court records, a search of Thomas's phone included sexually oriented videos and photos of Buzbee, some of which Thomas tried to delete.

Buzbee, who lived in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers and attended Hamilton Southeastern High School, was last seen by her parents on Jan. 5. She is believed to have met Thomas through an online gaming platform and voluntarily left her home to meet him. Fishers police said a vehicle in the area at the time Buzbee left her home was traced back to Thomas.

Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Jim O'Grady set a $1.5 million bond for Thomas on Jan. 31, before Thomas appeared for any hearing.

Court records say Thomas was furloughed, or released temporarily, to the FBI for investigative purposes on Feb. 1 and was then returned to the Franklin County jail.

Thomas appeared for a bond hearing on Feb. 2 in Municipal Court. Judge Jarrod Skinner kept the $1.5 million bond in place and ordered Thomas to have no internet access or unsupervised visits with minors should he post that and be released, court records say.

Officials spoke with Thomas within a few days of Buzbee's disappearance. Thomas reportedly told detectives he had dropped Buzbee off on the side of the road in western Ohio, but an investigation determined that was not true.

Buzbee was initially classified as a runaway, but her case was upgraded to an "endangered missing juvenile" on Jan. 20.

Police searched Thomas' vehicle and home on Jan. 21 and found evidence Buzbee had been there, as well as at a short-term rental in Hocking County. Thomas has not been charged with murder, according to court records in Franklin and Perry counties.

Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Body of Hailey Buzbee found in Ohio, attorney says

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