EMMETT COUNTY — The Emmet County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 24-year-old Iowa man in a child exploitation case that included multiple states.

Investigators said William Joseph Gatchel the Second was taken into custody after allegedly communicating online with a local minor and then traveling to Harbor Springs to meet the minor.

Law enforcement was notified when the child failed to show up for school.

Three hours after the child was reported missing, authorities tracked Gatchel and the minor to Minooka, Illinois.

Gatchel now faces several felony charges, including three counts of criminal sexual conduct and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes.

The investigation continues across several jurisdictions.

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