Newspaper editor charged with faking sickening claims against father of missing teen cowboy Jarrett Brooks

A local newspaper editor has been charged with creating fake Reddit posts to smear the parents of a missing teenager.

Jarrett Brooks, 16, was last seen on his parents’ security cameras grabbing a pistol at the house in Joseph City, Arizona, about 6.30am on July 4, 2023.

His parents Brian and Laura Brooks believe he was picked up by someone he met online and is still alive but at risk, and never stopped searching for him.

But instead of looking high and low for Jarrett, local police spent months investigating his parents over false claims Brian was molesting his son.

The heartbroken dad told DailyMail.com he never received an apology for the ordeal police put him through, and the social media conspiracy theories that persist to this day.

‘We had a sit-down meeting with the sheriff and he has not once said he’s sorry,’ Brian said.

Molly Kathryn Ottman, 50, is accused of creating a Reddit account pretending to be Brian and made numerous posts alluding to ‘sexual activity’ with Jarrett.

She then contacted the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office in October 2023 to alert them to the posts, which she claimed were made by Brian, prosecutors said.

Jarrett Brooks, 16, took a gun from the family gun safe as he sneaked out of his home early on the Fourth of July 2023 and has not been seen since

Molly Kathryn Ottman, 50, allegedly created a Reddit account pretending to be Jarret’s dad Brian Brooks and made numerous posts alluding to ‘sexual activity’ with his son

Instead of looking high and low for Jarrett, local police spent months investigating his parents Laura and Brian Brooks (pictured) over false claims Brian was molesting his son 

Ottman is ‘executive editor and an investigative journalist’ of the Mountain Daily Star and wrote several articles about Jarrett in 2023 and 2024.

Police began investigating after her tip, including searching the Brooks home and seizing electronic devices Brian said were never returned.

Offices of Harter Investigations, a private investigations firm the Brooks hired, was also searched. Ottman worked for Harter for a while, but was let go before the Reddit account was created.

Brian and his wife were finally exonerated after months under the microscope when police allegedly discovered Ottman was behind the account.

Ottman was on May 6 indicted by a grand jury on charges of obstructing a criminal investigation and fraudulent schemes and artifices. 

She was issued a summons to appear in Navajo County Superior Court on June 2. 

‘A 16-year-old boy was missing and all of law enforcement’s energy and resources should have been able to remain focused strictly on the search for that young man’, Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon said.

‘Diverting attention, resources and time to fabricated evidence creates unwarranted distractions during time-sensitive investigations.’

Jarrett is believed to have been spotted by local rancher Joe Zabadal striding through his pasture about a mile from the house just after 7am

The figure had his pants tucked into white top boots, the same as Jarrett’s favorite pair, and was carrying a gun, heading west out of town toward Lacy Lane

Brian described the indictment of Ottman as ‘a start’ and said he believed prosecutors were planning additional charges.

‘She’s reaping the rewards for what she did,’ he said.

The Reddit posts and the police investigation they spawned caused the couple to be subjected to rampant social media speculation for more than a year.

Entire Facebook groups were created with hundreds of posts assuming the allegations were true, and accusing the couple of being responsible for Jarrett’s disappearance.

The speculation was made worse by sex crime convictions both Brian and Laura had from 20 years before their son went missing.

They were accused of having sex in front of their teenage babysitters and plying them with alcohol in an alleged attempt to get them to join in, which they denied.

Brian was jailed for up to six months and lost his job as the local fire chief after pleading guilty to a felony count of tampering with evidence and two counts of public sexual indecency.

Laura, who was 23 at the time, pleaded guilty to giving a minor a piercing, and two counts of public sexual indecency and was jailed for 30 days.

Neither were required to register as sex offenders.

Ottman was on May 6 indicted by a grand jury on charges of obstructing a criminal investigation and fraudulent schemes and artifices

Jarrett’s father was a fire chief and he dressed up in a firefighter’s uniform in this old photo

There have been no new leads in Jarrett’s disappearance in almost two years and no confirmed sightings since he was caught on camera at his home. 

He is then believed to have been spotted by local rancher Joe Zabadal striding through his pasture about a mile from the house just after 7 am.

The figure had his pants tucked into white top boots, the same as Jarrett’s favorite pair, and was carrying a gun, heading west out of town toward Lacy Lane.

His account, given to police later that day, was critical in shaping the search for Jarrett, and led to his parents believing he got a ride from someone he met online. 

Zabadal told DailyMail.com last year that he saw Jarrett walking across his field that morning, get to the road, and pace back and forth – but by the time he could drive out to find him, he was gone.

Police used dogs to follow Jarrett’s scent, which led them through the pasture before the trail went dead around where he was last seen near the road. 

Laura realized about 7.30am that Jarrett had left the house and drove around looking for him, but didn’t find him at any Fourth of July celebrations. 

Brian said ‘the only thing that makes sense to us’ is that he was in a hurry because he had arranged to meet someone at the road.

Zabadal saw Jarrett climb under the fence in this photo and pace back and forth along the road at this concrete water crossing

Brooks said Zabadal told him he was was out with his uncle Tom watering his fields and checking gates when he saw Jarrett in the distance

He said whoever picked him up was likely ‘a stranger, someone he probably talked to online but had never met in person’.

‘We have said from the beginning that we believe he was picked up by someone from Lacy Lane. We believe he is out there and not in a good situation,’ he said. 

‘Neither my wife nor I have ever got the gut feeling that he’s not with us anymore. Call it parent’s intuition or whatever you want.

‘We would love to have him home or have the closure and an end to the torment and torture we have experienced and continue to experience daily.’

Brian said he didn’t believe Jarrett took the gun to take his own life, as it doesn’t fit with his personality or the circumstances.

‘Why would you pace back and forth on the side of the road if you were on a mission to go self-harm or disappear? You’d just keep walking,’ he said.

‘So he took the gun for protection, he figured, well, I should be OK, but just in case, I’m gonna have a way to protect myself and so he took the gun.’ 

Jarrett had been grounded the previous evening after his parents discovered he’d broken the family car’s CV axle by driving the car off-road, which he had been warned not to do three times before.

The last photo of Jarrett taken before he disappeared on July 4, 2023 

Facebook groups have spawned to held search for Jarrett, but so far, nothing has been uncovered

Laura, who was the last family member to see him, said she bumped into him in the hallway on her way to have a shower about 6.15am.

‘He asked me if he was grounded from everything or just driving, and I told him everything. And then, I went into the bathroom to take my shower,’ she said.

‘He seemed fine, he just said, “OK”, and turned around and went to his room. He didn’t argue it, he didn’t huff and puff or show any attitude.’

Laura explained that she discovered Jarrett had broken the $100 car part when he turned in his phone, as all their children are required to do before bed so they don’t get distracted instead of sleeping.

Phones were also subject to random checks, and Laura founds texts between Jarrett and his friends discovering how to fix the car before his parents found out.

When Laura got out of the shower about 15 minutes later, Jarrett was gone – but it wasn’t until about 6.45am when she realized he wasn’t at the house.

While his mother was in the shower, Jarrett had grabbed the gun, changed into his pants and boots, and slipped out of the house undetected.

Jarrett’s parents still had his phone, and his wallet – containing his license and cash – was found in the pocket of a pair of gym shorts in his car. 

Jarrett’s parents believe the teen (pictured as a child, at bottom left) is possibly being held against his will

Jarrett’s parents are increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation and Jarrett continuing to be treated as a runaway, not a juvenile in danger – which has only recently changed

Brooks woke up about 8.30am and together they looked around the town and checked with his friends and their parents, but there was no sign of him.

The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office was notified at 12:28 pm, and Jarrett was initially treated as a teenage runaway.

Only then, about 1pm, did Brooks check the gun safe in the den and discover the pistol was missing.

Police responded with a wide search of the area and soon learned of Zabadal’s sighting hours earlier.

Friends joined the search over the rest of the afternoon, along with a Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter and search dogs from Winslow Prison.

The search continued for the days that followed, combing a wide radius in a grid and going door to door.

The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office issued multiple search warrants in different parts of Arizona in its efforts to find the teen, but have come up empty.

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk