According to foreign media Nintendo news, last summer, the Switch game console helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Virginia to find a missing 15-year-old girl 2000 miles from home (August 3, 2022, in Virginia).
ABC News that 28-year-old Ethan Roberts travelled to Virginia to pick up the missing girl after becoming friends with her online, then kidnapped the girl and forced her to be exposed to juvenile products. During the abduction, Roberts allowed the girl to take her Switch game console with her — and that was the key to solving the case.
While in Amazonas, the girl used the Switch to download games and log onto YouTube, and one of her friends saw the girl’s name on the Switch activity list and immediately contacted authorities with the information.
The FBI received the information and immediately contacted Nintendo to obtain the IP address of the Switch and locate the kidnapper’s apartment complex. The FBI and Tolson Police then arrested Roberts and located the girl, who was charged with transportation of a person with intent to commit a crime involving a child’s juvenile product and intent to commit a crime.
The girl is now safe and sound with her family – just 11 days after her disappearance. In April, Roberts was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
