Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell has been “found” after previously being reported as “endangered and missing” earlier this week.
Reports of his disappearance arrived after a Facebook post from Daytona Beach Police Department indicated that Bell was last seen on Wednesday night.
Bell, who starred in Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh from 1999 through 2007, was reportedly located by Daytona Beach police and in contact with them as of Thursday afternoon.
The 36-year-old actor took to his Twitter, seeming to joke about the situation after the fact, making for his first tweet in over 10 days.
“You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer for the night and this?” the actor tweeted on Thursday.
Bell’s social media update on Twitter received thousands of likes, retweets, and quotes on the platform.
Drake Bell was reported as ‘missing and endangered’
In a Facebook post on their official page, the Daytona Beach Police Department initially said that officers were “looking for Jared Bell, DOB 6/27/1986,” as of this past Wednesday, April 12.
At the time, they described the vehicle he may have been traveling in and the area he was last seen — near Mainland High School, before 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
They also said he was “considered missing and endangered,” providing a phone number, email, and detective’s name with whom anyone could contact with information.
Their Facebook post received a positive update on Thursday afternoon, confirming that law enforcement officials had contact with Bell and that “Mr. Bell is safe.”
It’s unclear why Bell was identified as “endangered.” According to Florida statutes, an “endangered missing person” can include “a missing adult 26 years of age or older who is suspected by a law enforcement agency of being endangered or the victim of criminal activity.”
There are several other potential reasons an individual can be reported as such, including individuals who meet the criteria for the Silver Alert Plan or Blue Alert Plan of the Department of Law Enforcement.
Drake Bell had a 2021 arrest and took a plea deal
In May 2021, the former Nickelodeon star was arrested in Ohio and charged with attempted endangering children, a fourth-degree felony, and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Per TMZ’s report, the allegations were that the actor “engaged in inappropriate contact in a club” with a girl under the age of 18 before a 2017 concert. Based on the investigation, Bell and the alleged victim had reportedly established a relationship online prior to her attending Bell’s concert in December 2017. The investigation claimed that Bell sent the alleged victim inappropriate messages on social media.
After being charged, Bell posted a $2,500 bond and received an order to have no contact with the alleged victim. He initially pleaded not guilty, but that changed several months later.
According to People’s report, he accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty on June 23, 2021. As part of his plea deal, Bell received a sentence of two years of probation and was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
In September 2021, Bell shared a video on his Instagram (below) in which he gave his account of what he claims happened, alleging that most of what people had been reading or hearing was “false and wrong.”
TMZ indicates Bell has faced other legal accusations and financial issues, including declaring bankruptcy in 2014 and being charged with DUI in 2015.
He is among a list of notable former Nickelodeon stars. After leaving the network years ago, others rose to success, including Keenan Thompson, Emma Roberts, Ariana Grande, and Keke Palmer.
In addition to his appearances on Nickelodeon, Bell’s television credits include him voicing Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, for the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man. He’s also appeared as himself on multiple shows, including Cupcake Wars, Safeword, and MTV’s The Challenge spinoff, Champs vs. Stars.