OPAL SWEARINGEN - 15 yo - New Sharon/ Farmington (N of Augusta) ME

Farmington -

Detectives in Franklin County are looking for a 15-year-old girl who's been missing for more than two weeks.

Police say Opal Swearingen ran away from her foster home in New Sharon with 30-year-old Charles Fontenot.



They were last seen in the Lewiston area two weeks ago in a 2001 Chevy
pickup 1500. The truck has Maine Registration number 1068-SW.

We're told the man has been in contact with family members and have been asked to bring Opal home, but will not.

Police worry she is in danger.

There's a warrant issued for Fontenot, charging him with felony sexual abuse of a minor and criminal restraint.

Anyone with information in the case should call the Franklin County Sheriff's Department at 778-2680.

http://www.wabi.tv/news/31297/police-looking-for-missing-teenager

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/06/26/news/lewiston-auburn/police-seek-missing-new-sharon-teen-man-who-refuses-to-return-her-to-her-family/

Police seek missing New Sharon teen, man who refuses to return her to her family

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Last update: 6:17 p.m.



By Andie Hannon, Sun Journal
Posted June 26, 2012, at 4:13 p.m.

NEW SHARON, Maine — Authorities in Franklin County are seeking the
public’s help in finding a missing Twin Cities teenager and the
30-year-old man who they say refuses to return her to her family.

Fifteen-year-old Opal Swearingen was reported missing by her New
Sharon foster parents on the morning of June 12. She is believed to be
traveling with Charles Fontenot, a 30-year-old Lewiston man authorities
later discovered she was having a sexual relationship with, Franklin
County authorities said.

Fontenot is being sought by authorities on a felony warrant charging
him with sexual abuse of a minor and criminal restraint. The legal age
of consent in Maine is 16.

A search of the Sun Journal archives shows Fontenot has had several
run-ins with authorities over the years, including charges ranging from
disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and theft to operating under the
influence, operating after suspension, reckless conduct and driving to
endanger.

Franklin County Detective David St. Laurent said Fontenot has had
limited contact with family members over the last two weeks, but has
thus far refused to return Swearingen to her home.

“He’s made the statement that ‘I can’t go to prison,’” St. Laurent
said. “They’ve been seen around the Lewiston area, but they haven’t
been picked up yet.”

Swearingen has family ties in the Lewiston-Auburn area where she
lived before she and one of her siblings were placed with the
state-recognized foster home in Franklin County.

According to St. Laurent, Swearingen met Fontenot while attending
high school with his 17-year-old daughter and started a relationship
with him shortly after.

St. Laurent said investigators learned in recent weeks that
Fontenot, who has three other children, continued seeing Swearingen
after she moved to Franklin County and would travel there regularly to
see her at night.

According to St. Laurent, an Amber Alert was not issued for
Swearingen due to her age and the fact she willingly left the home with
Fontenot, even leaving a note with her sibling detailing her plan.

St. Laurent said authorities left messages for both Swearingen and
Fontenot on their cellphones, reached out to them via Facebook and
remain in contact with family members on both sides in hopes of getting
them to return home.

St. Laurent said Fontenot has been known to work traveling carnivals
and that authorities contacted local companies to alert them to the
situation. State and local authorities throughout Maine have been made
aware of the situation, as well as Border Patrol.

Additionally, Fontenot has ties to Massachusetts, Texas and Mexico.
If authorities learn the two have left the state, then St. Laurent said
the FBI will be alerted.

The two were last seen in Lewiston on June 12 in a Chevrolet pickup 1500 with Maine registration number 1068-SW.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 207-778-9891.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/06/26/news/lewiston-auburn/police-seek-missing-new-sharon-teen-man-who-refuses-to-return-her-to-her-family/

he cant go to prison? wanna bet?

Police seek public’s help in locating girl, man, beige truck

NEW SHARON - A 15-year-old girl discovered missing from her home
earlier this month is now believed to be in the company of a 30-year-old
man with ties to the Lewiston area.
Opal Swearingen, 15, of New
Sharon, was reported missing on June 12, according to Franklin County
Sheriff Department Detective David St. Laurent.
In the course of
the missing person investigation, police say they believe Swearingen is
now in the company of Charles Fontenot, 30, of Lewiston.
Authorities
are seeking help from the public in locating Swearingen, as well as
Fontenot, who now faces charges for his alleged role in the girl's
disappearance.
St. Laurent said that a warrant has been issued
nationwide for Fontenot, charging him with sexual abuse of a minor and
criminal restraint.
They were last seen in the Lewiston area in a
beige Chevrolet 1500 pickup with Maine Registration plates numbered
1068-SW. Fontenot, St. Laurent added, had ties to Massachusetts, Texas
and Mexico and also worked carnivals in Maine.
If either
individual is located, people are asked to immediately contact the
Franklin County Sheriff's office at 778-2680 or their local police
department.
http://www.dailybulldog.com/db/features/police-seek-publics-help-in-locating-girl-man/

Missing teen, man she was traveling with taken into custody in Portland

Donna M. Perry, Staff Writer
Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 1:01 pm

FARMINGTON — A Lewiston man and a 15-year-old girl, who was reported missing from her foster home in New Sharon on June 12, were taken into custody Wednesday night in Portland, Franklin County Sheriff Lt. Niles Yeaton said in a release Thursday.

Opal Swearingen was traveling and having a relationship with Charles Fontenot, 30, according to Sun Journal archives.

The U.S. Marshals Service took the two into custody in Portland.

Swearingen has been returned to the custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Yeaton said.

Fontenot was interviewed by Franklin County Sheriff Detective David St.Laurent and Maine State Police Detective Randy Keaten. He was transferred from the Cumberland County Jail to the Franklin County jail in Farmington Thursday.

Fontenot was arrested on charges of sexual abuse of a minor and criminal restraint, Yeaton said.

A felony warrant for those charges was previously issued. The legal age of consent in Maine is 16.

Fontenot's bail had not been set as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday. He is expected to appear in a Farmington court on Friday.

St. Laurent previously said that Fontenot refused to return the girl to her home.

Swearingen has family ties in the Lewiston-Auburn area where she lived before she and one of her siblings were placed in a state-recognized foster home in Franklin County.

She left home with Fontenot willingly and left a note with a brother about her plans, according to the Sun Journal archives.

“No other details are available, at this time,” Yeaton said in releases Thursday. “We wish to thank all the law enforcement agencies that assisted in the safe return of Opal. We also thank the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children for their prompt response to getting the information public.”

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/2012/07/12/man-teenage-girl-traveling-together-taken-custody/1222732

15 years old...hangin' with a man twice her age.
This guy needs to be locked up...OMG!

disgusting, isnt it?