INDIANAPOLIS – Samuel Shamansky, the lawyer for Tyler Thomas, revealed to FOX59/CBS4 on Monday that Thomas led FBI officials to the remains of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee on Sunday evening.
This comes after Thomas had an initial court hearing in Franklin County Court in Ohio on Monday morning. Shamansky said that Buzbee’s remains was located in Perry County, which is southeast of Columbus.
Shamansky told FOX59/CBS4 that the FBI picked Thomas up on Sunday from the Franklin County Jail in Ohio and Thomas led officials to the location of Buzbee’s remains.
Buzbee, a Fishers teen who was believed by law enforcement to be dead, left her Fishers home on Jan. 5 and was later considered an “endangered missing juvenile.”
According to previous reports, Thomas was booked into jail on the following preliminary charges:
One count of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor – create/produce material, a Level 2 felony
One count of tampering with evidence – alter/destroy/conceal/remove record, a Level 3 felony
Shamansky said he believes Thomas will be charged with murder in Hocking County.
On Sunday, officials identified Thomas as an individual who was involved in Buzbee’s disappearance. According to previous reports, law enforcement identified an unknown vehicle in the Fishers neighborhood the night that Buzbee went missing, one that was later linked to Thomas.
Thomas later told law enforcement that he picked Buzbee up from the Fishers home. Court documents later revealed that Thomas reportedly took Buzbee to a Columbus home.
After a search warrant was conducted, law enforcement officials allegedly found videos of Buzbee that were sexual in nature and recorded in the home. Previous reports indicate that Thomas attempted to delete the videos.
During Monday’s arraignment hearing, court officials determined that Thomas will be held on a $1.5 million cash surety bond. If Thomas posts bond, he will not be allowed to have contact with the victim’s family, no internet usage, no possession of firearms, no drug/alcohol use and no unsupervised contact with minors.
As of this story’s publication, Thomas has not yet officially been charged with murder or any similar counts.
The multi-state investigation into the disappearance of a 17-year-old missing from central Indiana, who is presumed dead, remains active and ongoing while a person of interest is in custody.
Hailey Buzbee, of Fishers, Indiana, was last seen on Jan. 5 near her home in the Indianapolis suburb. On Feb. 1, remains believed to be those of Buzbee were found in a wooded area in Perry County.
A man believed to have been seen with Buzbee when she disappeared, 39-year-old Tyler Thomas, of Victorian Village, is currently being held in the Franklin County jail. He is charged with pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and tampering with evidence.
Court records say Thomas had sexually explicit photographs and videos on his phone, some of which he tried to delete, with Buzbee in them. Thomas also led authorities to the site in Perry County where the remains were found.
Here’s a look at what we don’t yet know and what comes next in the investigation.
Will Tyler Thomas be charged with murder in Hailey Buzbee’s death?
Sam Shamansky, the attorney representing Thomas, said he expects a murder charge to eventually be filed in Hocking County. Thomas maintains that he did not kill Buzbee, Shamansky told The Dispatch.
A murder charge, however, may not come quickly. Confirmation of the identity of the remains through DNA will have to be completed, as well as an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Because the remains were outside for an undetermined period of time, quick identification may be hindered.
Ohio does not have a statute of limitations on murder, and a charge can be filed at any time. Thomas is currently being held in the Franklin County jail on charges of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and tampering with evidence.
His bond is currently set at $1.5 million, and Shamansky said Thomas has no intention of posting that bond to be released.
Who is Tyler Thomas, and how did Buzbee know him?
According to court records and information provided by Fishers, Indiana, police, Buzbee and Thomas met through an unspecified online gaming platform. Authorities have not specified which platform it was on or how long communication between the two had been ongoing.
Indiana authorities have said Thomas picked up Buzbee and brought her to Ohio. Shortly after her disappearance, police spoke with Thomas, who said he had dropped Buzbee off on the side of the road in western Ohio.
Further investigation determined that Thomas’ story was not true, and evidence found in his car and at a short-term rental in Hocking County provided police with information that Buzbee had been in those locations. Police have not provided any further information about the evidence.
Information about where in Hocking County Buzbee and Thomas may have been has not been released.
Will an autopsy be performed on what may be Hailey Buzbee’s remains?
An autopsy will be performed on the remains by the Licking County Coroner’s office, which handles the autopsies for multiple counties. Those results will then be provided to the Perry County Coroner’s office, which will be responsible for releasing the final autopsy report.
Perry County has the jurisdictional responsibility for releasing information because the remains were found in that county. Details about where exactly and in what condition the remains were found have not been released.
Hocking County Sheriff Lanny North told 10TV that Buzbee’s body had been dismembered. The Dispatch has reached out to North for comment on the ongoing investigation.
Final autopsy reports can take four to six weeks, and all include toxicology testing.
Buzbee’s prompts response from Indiana Gov. Mike Braun
Buzbee’s disappearance and death prompted a response from Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, who used the case as an opportunity to promote potential digital safeguards for minors.
“This tragedy raises serious questions about how we better protect our kids in the digital age,” he wrote in a post on X. “Stronger tools for parents, including limits on social media and a more responsive alert system, are important. I am working with the Indiana State Police to identify solutions to gaps in our alert system. I urge our legislature to take action to prevent further tragedies and I call on Big Tech to stop selling their product to children.”
Buzbee’s surviving family is now pushing the Indiana legislature through a petition to pass “Hailey’s Law,” which would create a “Pink Alert” system for missing persons and children when credible risk indicators exist, even if Amber or Silver Alert criteria are not met.
The petition has more than 75,000 signatures of support as of noon Feb. 3.