Former Ohio Teacher Jobe Binkley Charged After Missing 16-Year-Old Girl Was Found in His Home

 

Former Ohio Teacher Jobe Binkley Is Charged With Interfering With Custody After a Missing Teen Was Found in His Home

Jobe Binkley, a former high school science teacher from Springfield, Ohio, was arrested in August 2026 after a missing 16-year-old girl was found inside his home.

The teenager had disappeared from a Columbus youth shelter on December 2, 2025. She remained missing for 263 days, prompting an extensive search and a tip line seeking information about her whereabouts.

On August 21, 2026, U.S. Marshals and local police searched Binkley's residence and found the girl alive inside.

Binkley was charged with interference with custody, a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio. He pleaded not guilty.

According to investigators, police had previously visited Binkley's home twice while searching for the teenager. Authorities allege that on both occasions, Binkley refused to allow officers inside and denied that she was there, despite knowing that she was a registered missing juvenile.

Binkley had previously worked as a science teacher at Springfield High School. School records reportedly show that he was placed on administrative leave twice before being fired in February 2025 for what the district characterized as unprofessional misconduct.

He was released on a $2,500 bond, and the criminal case remains pending.

There is an important boundary here: the information provided does not allege that Binkley sexually abused or trafficked the teenager, and nothing in this record should be stretched into such a claim. The charge is interference with custody.

But the central allegation is serious enough on its own.

A 16-year-old girl was missing for 263 days. Police say they went to this former teacher's home twice looking for her and he denied she was there. Months later, U.S. Marshals searched that same fucking house and found her alive inside.