Missing Georgia teen found safe after Lubbock man arrested

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A Georgia teen who had been missing since May 15, 2021, has been found after a Lubbock man was arrested. The man has been accused of starting an online relationship with the 14-year-old and taking her from Georgia to Texas. The warrant for his arrest says he has been charged with sexual assault of a child, and the federal complaint against him is for possession of child pornography.

The DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia posted on social media on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 the girl was found safe in another state, but it is unclear where she was found. The police department is working with other agencies to get her back to Georgia.

Federal court documents say 33-year-old Robert David Fyke communicated with the minor who lived in Georgia. Fyke told law enforcement he had exchanged sexually explicit images with the minor before meeting, and continued to take images of her when he brought her to Lubbock.

Fyke initially told police she said she was 19, but later admitted during a polygraph interview that he knew she was 14 when he picked her up.

Records state the girl left her parent’s residence in Georgia and was picked up by Fyke on or about May 15, who then brought her to Lubbock.

When law enforcement followed cell phone use to a home being rented by Fyke in Lubbock, they tried to find Fyke and the minor there, but were unsuccessful.

Fyke was found at work and approached by Lubbock police, and he consented to a search of his phone. Fyke told police the minor had left him around June 11, possibly with another man to “Pennsylvania or Connecticut.” The arrest warrant for Fyke reveals he went to Colorado and left the teen in Lubbock. While he was gone, she texted him saying she was leaving him for another man. He did not believe her, but when he returned to Lubbock, she was gone, according to the documents.

The arrest warrant also says after he took the polygraph, he agreed to call the teen to verify she was “good and not deceased.” She told him she left with a guy named “Wayne” who she met on a dating app, and who was around the same age as Fyke.

An LPD Forensic Officer examined Fyke’s phone and found “numerous sexually explicit images” of the minor.

A warrant was issued and Fyke was arrested on a charge of Possession of Child Pornography. As of Tuesday, June 22, county records indicate Fyke is still on hold for FBI and the U.S. Marshal’s Office in the Lubbock County Detention Center.