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Missing teen arrested
Poole, Myers picked up by Orlando PD
Poole-Orlando-mug
Poole

The Richmond Hill teen police initially thought was kidnapped has been arrested by police in Orlando, Fla.

Melinda Poole, 19, was taken into custody around 1 a.m. Friday, along with James Randall Myers, whom local police initially suspected of abducting Poole on Feb. 23 from the Richmond Hill Days Inn.

According to Richmond Hill Police Department Detective Mike Albritton, Orlando police responded to a call that Myers was assaulting Poole.

Albritton said Myers left the scene before officers arrived but was spotted by police when he drove by when Poole was being questioned. Police reportedly blocked his vehicle and Myers tried to run before he was caught.

As police were arresting Myers, Poole reportedly got into a scuffle with officers and was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

Albritton said local charges are pending. He and Det. Dana Strickland will be looking at the interview that the Orlando Police Department will be conducting with the two.

Last weekend, police began a search for Poole. The investigation started with a phone call on Saturday morning to RHPD from St. Joseph’s Hospital, where Richmond Hill resident Nehemiah Scriven was admitted for treatment following an alleged altercation with Myers.

Scriven reportedly told authorities Myers came to room 104 at the hotel, where he and Poole were at, and assaulted him before abducting her.

The investigation changed several days later, when the two were spotted in Daytona Beach.

Det. Strickland said, after reviewing surveillance video, that Poole did not appear to be "in any state of duress or physical danger."

Authorities then began seeking the two in order to question them about the alleged assault.

Myers is now being charged with domestic battery, resisting arrest and tampering with a witness.

The Orlando Police Department set an $8,800 bond on Myers, who is awaiting extradition to Georgia on multiple outstanding area charges. He has previously been charged with car theft, armed robbery and burglary.

Poole is being held in Florida, pending a $1,750 bond.

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