The FBI has joined the search for a missing 14-year-old girl in Virginia who disappeared in the early hours of Monday morning with her mother’s 34-year-old ‘armed and dangerous’ ex-boyfriend.
More than 72 hours has passed since Isabel Hicks was last seen in her family home in Bumpass, Louisa County, before she vanished sometime after 1am on October 21.
Officers believe her to be in the company of Bruce Lynch, a 34-year-old white male also from Bumpass, who is described as being five-feet-ten-inches, with brown hair and brown eyes.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the FBI’s Richmond division confirmed they’ll be partnering with Louisa County Sheriff’s Office investigators to find Isabel, who they’ve deemed to be an ‘endangered missing juvenile’.
Investigators suspect the pair may be camping in a wooded area and said Lynch should be considered ‘armed and potentially dangerous’.
Isabel Hicks was last seen in her family home in Louisa County, Virginia. Investigators believe she disappeared sometime after 1am on October 21
Officers believe her to be in the company of Bruce Lynch, a 34-year-old white male also from Bumpass, who formerly dated Isabel’s mother, Courtney Lewis (right) for a number of years, dating back to at least 2014
Police haven’t confirmed the connection between Hicks and Lynch, however posts on social media show that Lynch was at one time dating Isabel’s mother, Cortney Lewis – between at least 2014 to 2017 – and has known the girl since she was nine-years-old.
Authorities could not confirm to DailyMail.com whether Isabel left with Lynch voluntarily or not.
Isabel is described as a white female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s four-foot-eleven and weighs roughly 120 lbs.
Lynch is believed to be driving a 2003 silver blue Toyota Matrix, with a Virginia licence plate reading ‘VEM-9071.’
A picture shared by the Louis County Sheriff’s Office shows Lynch and Isabel together on what appears to be a family vacation or outing.
If any members of the public see Lynch or Isabel, they are asked to contact law enforcement immediately and not to approach them under any circumstances.
Police have not yet issued a warrant for Lynch’s arrest, nor have they publicly accused him of any wrongdoing.
Lynch is believed to be driving a silver blue Toyota Matrix, with a Virginia licence plate reading ‘VEM-9071.’
A picture shared by the Louis County Sheriff’s Office shows Lynch and Isabel together on what appears to be a family vacation or outing (left). If any members of the public see Lynch or Isabel, they are asked to contact law enforcement immediately and not to approach them under any circumstances
Relatives of the missing teen have spoken out on social media, issuing desperate pleas for any information regarding her whereabouts.
Blake Saylor, Isabel’s brother said on Facebook that his sister had been ‘kidnapped’ and said the family ‘isn’t going to do anything crazy’ but will let authorities investigate the case and help being the young teen home.
Saylor added that he believes Lynch ‘deserves to rot in jail’.
Isabel’s mother, Courtney, has also posted on Facebook several times since her daughter vanished.
On Monday, 14 hours after she was reported missing, she said: ‘Please, please all hunters around us please go check your land he took camping/hunting gear so they may be in the woods.’
Police have not yet issued a warrant for Lynch’s arrest, nor have they publicly accused him of any wrongdoing
Police have not released any information about the connection between Hicks and Lynch, however posts on social media show that Lynch was at one time dating Isabel’s mother, Cortney Lewis (left), for a number of years and has known the girl since she was nine-years-old
Blake Saylor, Isabel’s brother said on Facebook that his sister had been ‘kidnapped’ and said the family ‘isn’t going to do anything crazy’ but will let authorities investigate the case and help being the young teen home
Lynch’s cousin, Matthew Lynch, told DailyMail.com he hasn’t seen Bruce since 2016 but says the 34-year-old doesn’t have any sort of criminal past which he knows of.
‘He’s always been very mild nature and very kind that I know,’ Matthew said. ‘I tried to reach out to him after I was sent some information [about the disappearance] but he never opened nor responded to my message.’
Matthew said Lynch appeared to be online less than an hour before he sent the message at 12.50pm Monday, but he hasn’t been online since.
‘So my thought is I hope it’s just a misunderstanding,’ he continued.
Anyone with information on Isabel’s whereabouts is asked to contact Louisa County Sheriff’s Office at (540)967-1234 or Louisa Crime Solvers at 800-346-1466.