Drake Bell Reportedly Missing, ‘Endangered,’ Police Say

Drake Bell has been reported missing. The Daytona Beach Police Department confirmed Thursday morning that the former Drake & Josh star, 36, “is considered missing and endangered” after he was last seen driving a 2022 grey BMW Wednesday, April 12 at around 9 p.m. local time in the area of Mainland High School. Further information regarding Bell’s disappearance is not known at this time, with police asking that anyone with information contact Detective Jayson Wallace at 386-671-5207 or wallacejayson@dbpd.us.

Bell has faced years of hardships. The former Nickelodeon star is serving a two-year probation sentence after pleading guilty to child endangerment charges in 2021. The actor was arrested in Cleveland in June 2021 for communicating with an underage girl he met several years prior, with the victim, who said she was 12 when the grooming began, accusing Bell of sexually abusing her and sending explicit photos of himself. Bell first pleaded not guilty, but later switched to guilty after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors. In 2020, an ex-girlfriend, Melissa Lingafelt, accused him of abuse, which he denied.

Prior to the abuse accusations, Bell in 2016 was arrested for driving under the influence after an officer saw him driving in Glendale, California. The actor was reportedly swerving and speeding after abruptly stopping at a red light. He was allegedly driving 55 mph in a 35 mph zone. Officers who pulled him over could smell alcohol coming from the car. Two years earlier in 2014, Bell filed for bankruptcy.

More recently, news broke in January that Bell and his wife Janet Von Schmeling reportedly separated. A source told PEOPLE at the time that the former couple split “a few months ago” and were “committed to maintaining a peaceful co-parenting relationship and giving their son the best life possible.” The outlet also reported that Bell entered a treatment program, one source sharing, “Drake needed to take time to get help and focus on his health.” The report came just weeks after the Daily Mail published photos of Bell appearing to be inhaling balloons while his son was in the car with him.

Bell shot to fame on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show before he and Josh Peck landed their own show, Drake & Josh. The hit show aired between 2004 and 2007. His other credits include Superhero Movie, The Nutty Professor, Birds of Paradise, and Yours, Mine & Ours, among dozens of others.