A 25-year-old man has been charged in connection with the disappearance of Rosie O'Donnell's 17-year-old daughter Chelsea.
As Us Weekly reported previously, Chelsea O'Donnell was revealed to be missing on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The former View co-host posted an alert on Twitter and her website on that day, stating that Chelsea and her dog Bear were last seen on Tuesday, Aug. 11, and that authorities had been searching for the teen in Nyack, New York — where O'Donnell and her family have a home — since the previous Sunday.
Thankfully, by the evening of Aug. 18, Chelsea was located by the police and Rosie's rep told Us that her daughter was "safe in their custody."
Now, on Saturday, Aug. 22, as first reported by Patch, Steven M. Sheerer has been charged on two third degree charges in relation to the disappearance.
The outlet reports that the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Sheerer with endangering the welfare of a child and the distribution of obscenity. If convicted of both charges, he faces over five years in jail.
Chelsea met Sheerer through the mobile dating app Tinder, according to Barnegat Police via Patch. She was found house in Barnegat, New Jersey, with Sheerer on Tuesday night, in the attic with her therapy dog, Bear.
Spokesman Al Della Fave told the outlet that the arrest of Sheerer, who has had a prior heroin conviction history, stems from an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit (HTCU), and the Barnegat and Long Beach Township police departments.
Sheerer‘s bail has been set at $40,000 cash, and he is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail. Judge Phillip M. Miller mandated Nicole's Law, which stipulates that Sheerer have no contact with the victim or her family.