Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell found after being reported 'missing and endangered' (UPDATE)

3:50 p.m. EST: Daytona Beach Police Department confirmed that Drake Bell has been found safe.

"At this time, we can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe," the department stated.

Original story below.

Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell has been reported "missing and endangered," according to Florida authorities.

The 36-year-old former actor, best known for his role on the early 2000s television series "Drake and Josh," was last seen on Wednesday evening.

Daytona Beach Police confirmed in a Facebook post on Thursday that Jared Drake Bell is considered "missing and endangered."

The department's post read, "Officers are looking for Jared Bell, DOB 06/27/1986. He should be traveling in a 2022 grey BMW and his last known location is potentially the area of Mainland High School on 4/12/2023 just before 9p.m."

Anyone with information regarding Bell's whereabouts is urged to contact Daytona Beach Police Department immediately.

"For those asking, this is a legitimate post from the Daytona Beach Police Department. If you have any information, please contact Detective Jayson Wallace," the department stated.

No further details have been released at this time.

Bell previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles in 2021. Consequently, Bell was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service. According to NBC News, he did not have to register as a sex offender.

The female victim accused Bell of "grooming" her since she was 12, sending explicit photos, and sexually abusing her in two separate incidents.

Two months after his sentencing, Bell took to Instagram to talk to his fans about the charges and other accusations.

Bell started the video by claiming that "most" of the news about him "is entirely false and wrong." Although the former actor admitted some of his behavior was "reckless and irresponsible."

"I know that this has moved very quickly for you, but for me, it's been a three-year, thorough investigation into every false claim that has been made," Bell stated.

"And, it's not me telling you that the claims are false, but the state of Ohio has proven the claims to be false. If these claims were remotely true, my situation would be very different. I would not be here at home with my wife and with my son. But that being said, I am not perfect, and I make mistakes," he added.

Bell admitted that he had been messaging an underage fan but claimed not to know her age at the time. According to Bell, once he learned how old the fan was, he ceased all communication.

"This individual continued to come to shows and pay for meet and greets, all while I was unaware that this was the same person I was communicating with online, and that's what I plead guilty to," Bell claimed. "It was reckless and irresponsible text messages. I want to make clear there were no sexual images, nothing physical between me and this individual. I was not charged with anything physical. I was not charged with the disseminating of photographs or images or anything like that. This is strictly over text messages."

Bell added that when he was presented with the plea deal, he concluded that accepting it would be "the best way to get this over quickly for everybody involved."

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