The search for an endangered missing girl, and her father, has ended with both being found. The bizarre case lead to many man hours being used by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and multiple agencies.
Sheriff Patrick Ray told the Smithville Review that on July 25, 34-year-old Nicholas Ray Reeder of Pea Ridge Road, Liberty, TN, was taken into custody and charged with failure to appear in court, as well as child abuse and custodial interference.
After an intensive search, a search dog was brought in, which eventually lead authorities to an outbuilding. The two were found barricaded inside with little to no ventilation, and little food or water.
The case began in March 2021, when authorities say Reeder knowingly endangered the life and physical wellbeing of his child, Kinzleigh, by driving his Nissan Rogue off the roadway, at Dry Creek and Pea Ridge Road, into a creek bed, where it got stuck during heavy rain and creek flooding.
According to the deputy who was called to the scene, a passerby spotted Reeder’s Nissan Rogue under the bridge in the creek between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 18. No one was in the vehicle, but Reeder and the child were outside under the bridge.
Sheriff Ray explained that although Reeder had a home nearby, where he and his daughter reside, Reeder told the officer that he arrived at the bridge with the child earlier in the day with the intention of staying the night, even though it was cold and raining and the creek waters were rising. After setting up camp under the bridge, Reeder and the child left to get some groceries and other supplies, but returned later to the creek where Reeder’s Nissan Rogue got stuck.
Due to the rising creek water and safety hazards, the deputy told Reeder that he and the child would have to leave. Although he was initially reluctant to go and vowed to return to the bridge later, Reeder allowed the officer to transport him and the child back to their home.
Reeder was later arrested and the Department of Children Services was notified.
Later, after Reeder failed to appear in court on the charges, and neither he nor his daughter could be located, a search for the two was conducted.
According to the warrant on the custodial interference charge, on June 16, 2021, Honorable General Sessions Court Judge Bratten Cook II issued an attachment Pro Corpus where, in court, found that the juvenile, a minor that is under eight years of age, was in immediate danger and directed the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department to seize the juvenile and deliver said minor to the State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
The warrant states that DCS last encountered the child on or about May 10, 2021. At that time the juvenile was in the custody and control of Reeder. Reeder failed to appear and submit himself to the court on June 16, 2021, June 23, 2021, and June 24, 2021.
The child abuse warrant reads:
“On June 25, 2021, Nicholas Ray Reeder did place his daughter, a minor child, in an adverse situation that affected her welfare. Reeder did knowingly hide his minor child from the Department of Children’s Services. The minor child was found with Reeder in an outbuilding that was sealed up and barricaded. There was no ventilation or air conditioning inside the building. There was very little food or water for the minor child. The outbuilding had a strong smell of ammonia where the two had been using a bucket to urinate and defecate in.”
Reeder is being held without bond on the failure to appear charge, and is under a $175,000 bond on the child abuse charges. He is due to appear in court on July 8.
Sheriff Ray commented on the search for the girl, and commended everyone involved. “The DeKalb County Sheriff's Department, along with other agencies from across middle Tennessee, have diligently worked around the clock looking for Kinzleigh Reeder. It all came to end on Friday evening when the child was located in an outbuilding with her father.”
“There have been hundreds of manpower hours utilized in the diligent search for Nicholas Reeder and the missing child. Throughout the investigation, there have been airplanes equipped with thermal imaging, and drones used in the Pea Ridge Community.”
“The Rutherford County Sheriff's Department was contacted to assist in the search with a bloodhound named ‘Fred.’ The bloodhound was able to locate a scent that led to an outbuilding located on the property belonging to Nicholas Reeder.”
“Officer's did have to make forcible entry where they came in contact with Nicholas and Kinzliegh Reeder. The door to the outbuilding was barricaded and the windows had been covered up in metal.”
Sheriff Ray continued, “I would like to thank the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department, Rutherford County Fire and Rescue, Stormpoint Emergency Response, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, DeKalb EMS, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for all their assistance in the search of Kinzliegh Reeder.”
