Missoula Police received a call from a man on Wednesday night, reporting a runaway girl, but ended up arresting the man who made the call on multiple charges. Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh says they had been searching for a runaway girl since earlier on in the week.

“The runaway was identified as a teenage girl who was believed to have been in the Missoula area,” Welsh said. “At about midnight, 911 received a call from an adult male reporting that a runaway had just gotten into a stranger’s car and that the car was leaving his location, which was near the intersection of Reserve and Mullan Road.”

The 911 caller followed the girl to a local convenience store and relayed to police where she was at.

“The officers went inside and made contact with the juvenile female as well as an adult female who owned the vehicle that she had jumped in,” Welsh said. “Through the course of the investigation there was a lot more information that was learned, including involvement between the juvenile and the adult male who had contacted 911. Both parties were brought to the station for interviews and the adult male was subsequently arrested for charges related to his contact with the juvenile female. He is identified as 40-year-old Joshua Jackson.”

It appears that the girl was attempting to run away from Jackson when he placed the call, as he is being held on two felony charges now, including a felony sexual assault for activity with the girl who was under the age of 16. He is also facing a felony drug distribution charge.

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