Drake Bell Has Been Found Safe After Going Missing

Former Drake & Josh star Drake Bell has been found after he went missing and was considered “endangered” by police. As reported by the Daytona Beach Police Department on April 13, officers were searching for Bell, who was reportedly last seen traveling in a 2022 grey BMW around Mainland High School on April 12 at 9 P.M. ET. Hours later, the department updated their post to confirm that Bell was “safe” and law enforcement officials were in contact with him, without giving any details. Bustle reached out to Bell’s representatives for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Hours after officers confirmed his safety, Bell made his first public comments about the debacle on Twitter, blaming his seeming absence on a missing phone and even making jokes about it. “You leave your phone in the car and don't answer for the night and this?” he wrote, complete with a crying-laughing emoji.

The police department once again confirmed that the 36-year-old actor, whose real name is Jared Drake Bell, was missing after fans initially thought their Facebook message was a hoax. “For those asking, this is a legitimate post from the Daytona Beach Police Department,” they commented under the post. TMZ was the first to report Bell’s missing status, also confirming that it was legitimate.

The missing reports come after Bell separated from his wife Janet Von Schmeling, with whom he shares a son, in January 2023 after nearly five years of marriage. “Drake and Janet are committed to maintaining a peaceful co-parenting relationship and giving their son the best life possible,” a source told PEOPLE. Their split came after Bell was seen inhaling balloons while parked at a California vape shop, with his son reportedly in the backseat, leading Bell to get outpatient treatment for substance abuse. “Drake needed to take time to get help and focus on his health,” the insider said.

Bell rose to fame as a teen actor on The Amanda Show alongside Amanda Bynes and Josh Peck in 1999, before landing his own TeenNick spin-off with Peck, Drake & Josh, which lasted for four seasons until 2007. He also launched a music career at the same time by writing and performing the Drake & Josh theme song, before releasing two albums during his Nickelodeon run.

Yvette Nicole Brown, who played movie theater manager Helen, was the first Drake & Josh co-star to comment on Bell, explaining that she had no more information than anyone else.

“I don’t know anything more about this than what @tmz has posted,” she wrote on Twitter, linking to TMZ’s article. “If you’ve seen @DrakeBell please call the number in the link.”