UPDATE: Daytona Beach police confirmed on Thursday afternoon that officers had been in contact with Bell and he was deemed safe.
Police are on the lookout for Drake Bell.
Authorities in Daytona Beach, Fla., confirmed in a Facebook post on Thursday that the former Nickelodeon star, 36, is considered “missing and endangered.” According to law enforcement, Bell is believed to be traveling in a 2022 grey BMW and was potentially last located near a neighborhood high school on Wednesday night before 9 p.m.
Access Hollywood has reached out to Bell’s rep for further information.
Some social media users expressed skepticism about Bell’s status, prompting the Daytona Beach police department to reiterate in a comment on their own post that the case is indeed legitimate. Officers additionally asked for anyone with knowledge of Bell’s whereabouts to contact Detective Jayson Wallace.
The latest news follows a string of personal and legal troubles for the former “Drake & Josh” actor.
Most recently, he and wife Janet Von Schmeling reportedly separated last year after marrying in 2018. They share one son.
In 2021, Bell pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges after being accused of allegedly having inappropriate contact with a then-underage fan years earlier. He shared his side of the story in a candid Instagram video at the time and denied that anything “physical” had happened between him and the alleged victim.
“I responded to a fan whose age I didn’t know. When I became aware of their age, all conversation and communication stopped,” he claimed in the 2021 clip. “This individual continued to come to shows and pay for meet-and-greets, and although I was unaware that this was the same person I was communicating with online, that’s what I pled guilty to.”
He was sentenced to two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service and apologized during the hearing, according to NBC News.
Drake Bell Through The Years
View Gallery“Today I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong. I’m sorry that the victim was harmed in any way – that was obviously not my intention. I have taken this matter very, very seriously, and again I just want to apologize to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions,” he reportedly said.
In 2015, the actor and musician was also ordered to spend four days in jail after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge stemming from a DUI arrest, and reportedly filed for bankruptcy the previous year.
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