A teenager who had been missing for months after she vanished without a trace from her hometown in Missouri was discovered hiding behind the door of a cluttered closet in the home of a sex offender.
The terrified 16-year-old girl was found alive inside the home of 44-year-old Maximilian Bondrescu, a convicted sex offender who police say snatched her, isolated her from the world, and forced her into a life of captivity.
Her location was uncovered only after she managed to send a desperate Instagram message to a friend, which helped lead investigators straight to the Colorado house where she was being held.
Bondrescu, a registered sex offender with a previous conviction for communication with a minor for immoral purposes, now faces charges including second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault on a child, false imprisonment, child abuse, and failure to properly register as a sex offender. He is being held in the Larimer County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond.
The teen had disappeared on December 6, 2024, after her father received a call from her school that she hadn’t shown up for class. Her phone went silent, and her social media was inactive, leaving her family worried and unaware of her whereabouts.
Friends of the teen revealed that she had talked about running away to Colorado, but as months passed with no communication, hope began to fade.
Then, on April 15, her Instagram account, which had been dormant since her disappearance, became active. She sent a message that saved her life. Investigators traced the message’s IP address, which led them to Bondrescu’s residence in Fort Collins, Colorado.
When police arrived on April 18, Bondrescu denied any knowledge of the missing girl, but after a search of the property, they found the teenager alive, terrified, and hiding in a closet.
According to the girl’s account, she began communicating with Bondrescu in November 2024 on an app called ‘Boo’ and later moved their conversations to Snapchat. They planned her escape, with Bondrescu renting a car, driving through the night, and picking her up in Missouri under cover of darkness.
Upon arriving in Colorado, Bondrescu allegedly carried the girl inside his home wrapped in a blanket to avoid being seen. He ordered her to dye her hair and wear a mask and sunglasses when leaving the house, which she was only allowed to do “a handful of times” during the months of captivity.
Bondrescu reportedly forced the girl to work for his snow removal business, FoCo Sno GO, shoveling snow while masked to hide her identity and age. He also took away her learner’s permit, student ID, and phone, smashing it to prevent her from contacting anyone for help.
But Bondrescu made one critical mistake — he gave the girl one of his old phones, unaware that Instagram was still installed. This phone allowed her to send the message that ultimately led to her rescue.
The teen revealed the psychological manipulation she endured, explaining that by January or February, she had begged Bondrescu to let her go home, but he refused, citing financial reasons.
Bondrescu, who had been convicted in 2019 for communication with a minor for immoral purposes, now faces a range of serious charges. Investigators are urging anyone who may have hired Bondrescu’s company, FoCo Sno GO, to come forward, as they believe the girl may have been forced to work in public while masked, hiding her identity.
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