WELLSVILLE, OH — An Ohio couple is facing misdemeanor charges after Columbiana County sheriff’s deputies say they found a missing juvenile hiding beneath a home during the execution of a search warrant.

Timothy Patrick and Kelly Reed were taken into custody Wednesday, Oct. 28, at a house in the 1400 block of Township Line Road, according to a criminal complaint cited by WFMJ. Deputies were looking for the juvenile, who had been reported missing and had an outstanding arrest warrant.

Authorities say the pair did not answer questions about whether the juvenile was inside the house until after they asked for a lawyer. The juvenile later came out from beneath the residence, where deputies say a hidden opening in the floor led them to suspect someone was being concealed there.

Deputies say the search led from a bedroom floor to a hidden space below the house

According to the complaint, deputies first entered the home and found Patrick and Reed in a bedroom. They detained both of them while continuing the search tied to the warrant.

As officers checked the property, they saw a hole in the floor of what appeared to be a juvenile’s bedroom. That detail prompted deputies to go outside and call for anyone underneath the home to come out.

The juvenile then emerged, the complaint says. Officials have not said how long the teen had been under the house or what led deputies to believe the juvenile might be concealed there before they arrived.

Charges filed after deputies say the pair had no custody of the juvenile

Patrick and Reed were each charged with misdemeanor obstructing official business and interference with custody. Deputies said the two did not have legal custody of the juvenile.

The complaint also says the juvenile had an outstanding arrest warrant, although the reason for that warrant was not made clear in the material provided. Authorities have not released additional details about the juvenile’s condition or any injuries.

The case adds a custody-related allegation to a search that began as a missing-person effort and ended with two adults under arrest in the same house where deputies say the juvenile was found.

Arraignment held Friday as case moves toward a December court date

Both defendants were arraigned Friday following their arrests. They are scheduled to return to court on Dec. 7.

Court proceedings will determine how the misdemeanor allegations move forward. For now, the criminal complaint places the focus on whether Patrick and Reed tried to prevent deputies from locating the juvenile and whether they interfered with custody-related responsibilities.

The sheriff’s office has not publicly detailed any broader connection between the adults and the missing juvenile beyond the claim that they were not the child’s custodians.

How the warrant search unfolded at the Township Line Road home

The search took place Wednesday at a residence in the 1400 block of Township Line Road in the Wellsville area, a rural part of Columbiana County near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

Deputies served the warrant and then worked through the home room by room, according to the complaint. The unusual discovery underneath the house turned the operation from a routine law-enforcement search into a more serious custody case.

Because the juvenile was already the subject of a missing-person investigation and an arrest warrant, the deputies’ discovery likely created multiple issues for investigators to sort out, including the circumstances of the teen’s disappearance and who had knowledge of the hiding place.

What is known and what remains unanswered in the case

At this point, authorities have identified the arrested adults and described the way deputies say the juvenile was found. They have also said the couple was not the juvenile’s legal custodian and that misdemeanor charges were filed after the search.

Still unanswered are several key questions, including why the juvenile was missing, how long the teen had been under the house, and what prompted the outstanding warrant. Officials have not released those details in the materials available so far.

The case is now set to continue in court, where the complaint and any later filings may provide a clearer picture of what happened before deputies arrived at the home.