Drake Bell had a justification for being missing. The Nickelodeon alum addressed the situation hours after being sought out and discovered by authorities.
On April 13, he posted a tweet with a laughing emoji. “You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer for the night and this?”
The Drake & Josh actor said nothing more about the event or offered any other details. Bell, who hadn’t been seen since April 12 at approximately 9 p.m. in Florida, was the subject of a missing persons notice posted earlier in the day on Facebook by the Daytona Beach Police Department.
“He should be travelling in a 2022 grey BMW and his last known location is potentially the area of Mainland High School,” read the post, accompanied by a picture of the 36-year-old. “He is considered missing and endangered.”
Four hours after the initial message, officials declared Bell had been found, adding, “We can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr Bell is safe.”
Prior to his brief hiatus, Bell had one more public appearance on April 11, when he and his kid were sighted visiting SeaWorld in Orlando. Bell and his former wife Janet Von Schmeling, who separated from the actor in January as he sought outpatient treatment for substance problems, have a 2-year-old.
Bell has had encounters with police enforcement in the past as well.
In July 2021, Bell entered a plea of guilty to attempted child endangerment in a Cleveland court and was given a sentence of two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
“Today I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong,” he said in a statement prior to his sentencing. “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.”