DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jared “Drake” Bell, an actor best known as a star of the Nickelodeon television show “Drake & Josh,” was declared ”missing and endangered” on Thursday by Florida authorities who asked the public for help in locating him.
Bell was last seen Wednesday night near a Daytona Beach high school, the city’s police department said in a statement. Police spokeswoman Carrie McCallister said Thursday that the agency couldn’t release any further information since it was part of an active investigation.
Representatives for the 36-year-old actor did not immediately reply to The Associated Press’ requests for comment.
Bell began acting as a child and was catapulted to fame as a teen with Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” and later “Drake & Josh.” The Nickelodeon show starring Bell and Josh Peck ran from 2004 until 2007, and was accompanied by two movies. Since then, Bell has mostly worked as a voice actor in addition to roles in little-seen TV series and movies. He also launched a music career.
In 2021, Bell was charged with child endangerment relating to a girl who attended a 2017 concert of his in Cleveland when she was 15 and had met him online years before. He pleaded guilty to felony attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles and was sentenced to two years’ probation. He was allowed to serve his probation and 200 hours of community service in California.