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Police investigate Uber ride that took 14-year-old girl across Michigan


Charles Willis is facing 9 felony charges in this case, according to police, including kidnapping and first degree criminal sexual conduct. Police say he arranged and paid for an Uber to drive the Barry County 14-year-old two hours to his Northville home. (Northville TWP PD/WWMT)
Charles Willis is facing 9 felony charges in this case, according to police, including kidnapping and first degree criminal sexual conduct. Police say he arranged and paid for an Uber to drive the Barry County 14-year-old two hours to his Northville home. (Northville TWP PD/WWMT)
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A recent incident involving a 14-year-old Barry County girl raises concern to what authorities have said is a rare, but very real danger – criminals using rideshare services to abduct minors.

The Northville Township Police Department reported 22-year-old Charles Willis used Uber to transport the teenager from West Michigan to his home in Metro Detroit, where he kept her inside of his basement and allegedly raped her.

Willis' criminal record shows a prior accusation of third degree criminal sexual conduct, or statutory rape, from an incident in at the end of January 2025, for which he is still facing charges.

"If there's anybody else out there that had the same experience with this individual or anybody else for that matter, please reach out," Lieutenant Patrick Reinke with the Northville Township Police Department urged.

Willis was able to arrange and pay for the two-hour-long Uber ride for the minor, which brought her all the way to his Northville home from Barry County. Further descriptive details will not be released to protect the identity of the victim.

A 2022 FBI report indicates criminals are exploiting rideshare apps to abduct minors, believing that it offers more privacy, and with fewer witnesses, reducing the likelihood of being caught while transporting victims.

"There are a lot of people out there that try to exploit that for some very horrible reasons," Reinke said.

Uber's policy advises against driving unaccompanied minors unless arranged through its "teen app" by a confirmed parent or guardian.

An Uber spokesperson told News Channel 3 that the guidelines that drivers should cancel trips involving unaccompanied minors with no risk of penalty and select "unaccompanied minor" as the reason for doing so.

In follow-up, News Channel 3 asked the spokesperson how the service is validating the identity of parents or guardians, as well as how drivers are being trained in identifying minors, but have not gotten a response since.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website, Uber trained its drivers in 2018 to identify minors, particularly those who could be in danger. However, it remains unclear if similar training has occurred since 2018.

Per Reinke, officers are working to obtain records from the rideshare app to understand how Willis managed to arrange the ride and whether the driver observed anything suspicious.

For parents, the Michigan State Police is emphasizing the importance of internet safety for children, noting that one in five children receive unwanted sexual solicitations online.

Parents are urged to utilize resources and help educate their children about cyber safety, as well as supervise their internet use to prevent exposure to predatorsand block inappropriate material.

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