Newspaper editor charged with faking sickening claims against father of missing teen cowboy Jarrett Brooks

A section paper exertion has been charged with creating fake Reddit posts to smear the parents of a missing teenager.

Jarrett Brooks, 16, was last seen connected his parents' information cameras grabbing a pistol astatine the location successful Joseph City, Arizona, astir 6.30am connected July 4, 2023.

His parents Brian and Laura Brooks judge helium was picked up by idiosyncratic helium met online and is inactive live but astatine risk, and ne'er stopped searching for him.

But alternatively of looking precocious and debased for Jarrett, section constabulary spent months investigating his parents implicit mendacious claims Brian was molesting his son.

The heartbroken dada told DailyMail.com helium ne'er received an apology for the ordeal constabulary enactment him through, and the societal media conspiracy theories that persist to this day.

'We had a sit-down gathering with the sheriff and helium has not erstwhile said he's sorry,' Brian said.

Molly Kathryn Ottman, 50, is accused of creating a Reddit relationship pretending to beryllium Brian and made galore posts alluding to 'sexual activity' with Jarrett.

She past contacted the Navajo County Sheriff's Office successful October 2023 to alert them to the posts, which she claimed were made by Brian, prosecutors said.

Ottman is 'executive exertion and an investigative journalist' of the Mountain Daily Star and wrote respective articles astir Jarrett successful 2023 and 2024.

Police began investigating aft her tip, including searching the Brooks location and seizing physics devices Brian said were ne'er returned.

Offices of Harter Investigations, a backstage investigations steadfast the Brooks hired, was besides searched. Ottman worked for Harter for a while, but was fto spell earlier the Reddit relationship was created.

Brian and his woman were yet exonerated aft months nether the microscope erstwhile constabulary allegedly discovered Ottman was down the account.

Ottman was connected May 6 indicted by a expansive assemblage connected charges of obstructing a transgression probe and fraudulent schemes and artifices. 

She was issued a summons to look in Navajo County Superior Court connected June 2. 

'A 16-year-old lad was missing and each of instrumentality enforcement’s vigor and resources should person been capable to stay focused strictly connected the hunt for that young man', Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon said.

'Diverting attention, resources and clip to fabricated grounds creates unwarranted distractions during time-sensitive investigations.'

Brian described the indictment of Ottman arsenic 'a start' and said helium believed prosecutors were readying further charges.

'She's reaping the rewards for what she did,' helium said.

The Reddit posts and the constabulary probe they spawned caused the mates to beryllium subjected to rampant societal media speculation for much than a year.

Entire Facebook groups were created with hundreds of posts assuming the allegations were true, and accusing the mates of being liable for Jarrett's disappearance.

The speculation was made worse by enactment transgression convictions some Brian and Laura had from 20 years earlier their lad went missing.

They were accused of having enactment successful beforehand of their teenage babysitters and plying them with intoxicant successful an alleged effort to get them to articulation in, which they denied.

Brian was jailed for up to six months and mislaid his occupation arsenic the section occurrence main aft pleading blameworthy to a felony number of tampering with grounds and 2 counts of nationalist intersexual indecency.

Laura, who was 23 astatine the time, pleaded blameworthy to giving a insignificant a piercing, and 2 counts of nationalist intersexual indecency and was jailed for 30 days.

Neither were required to registry arsenic enactment offenders.

There person been nary caller leads successful Jarrett's disappearance successful astir 2 years and nary confirmed sightings since helium was caught connected camera astatine his home. 

He is past believed to person been spotted by local rancher Joe Zabadal striding done his pasture astir a mile from the location conscionable aft 7 am.

The fig had his pants tucked into achromatic apical boots, the aforesaid arsenic Jarrett's favourite pair, and was carrying a gun, heading westbound retired of municipality toward Lacy Lane.

His account, fixed to constabulary aboriginal that day, was captious successful shaping the hunt for Jarrett, and led to his parents believing helium got a thrust from idiosyncratic helium met online. 

Zabadal told DailyMail.com past twelvemonth that helium saw Jarrett walking crossed his tract that morning, get to the road, and gait backmost and distant - but by the clip helium could thrust retired to find him, helium was gone.

Police utilized dogs to travel Jarrett's scent, which led them done the pasture earlier the way went dormant astir wherever helium was past seen adjacent the road. 

Laura realized astir 7.30am that Jarrett had near the location and drove astir looking for him, but didn't find him astatine immoderate Fourth of July celebrations. 

Brian said 'the lone happening that makes consciousness to us' is that helium was successful a hurry due to the fact that helium had arranged to conscionable idiosyncratic astatine the road.

He said whoever picked him up was apt 'a stranger, idiosyncratic helium astir apt talked to online but had ne'er met successful person'.

'We person said from the opening that we judge helium was picked up by idiosyncratic from Lacy Lane. We judge helium is retired determination and not successful a bully situation,' helium said. 

'Neither my woman nor I person ever got the gut feeling that he's not with america anymore. Call it parent's intuition oregon immoderate you want.

'We would emotion to person him location oregon person the closure and an extremity to the torment and torture we person experienced and proceed to acquisition daily.'

Brian said helium didn't judge Jarrett took the weapon to instrumentality his ain life, arsenic it doesn't acceptable with his property oregon the circumstances.

'Why would you gait backmost and distant connected the broadside of the roadworthy if you were connected a ngo to spell self-harm oregon disappear? You'd conscionable support walking,' helium said.

'So helium took the weapon for protection, helium figured, well, I should beryllium OK, but conscionable successful case, I'm gonna person a mode to support myself and truthful helium took the gun.' Jarrett had been grounded the erstwhile evening aft his parents discovered he'd breached the household car's CV axle by driving the car off-road, which helium had been warned not to bash 3 times before.

Laura, who was the past household subordinate to spot him, said she bumped into him successful the hallway connected her mode to person a ablution astir 6.15am.

'He asked maine if helium was grounded from everything oregon conscionable driving, and I told him everything. And then, I went into the bath to instrumentality my shower,' she said.

'He seemed fine, helium conscionable said, "OK", and turned astir and went to his room. He didn't reason it, helium didn't huff and puff oregon amusement immoderate attitude.'

Laura explained that she discovered Jarrett had breached the $100 car portion erstwhile helium turned successful his phone, arsenic each their children are required to bash earlier furniture truthful they don't get distracted alternatively of sleeping.

Phones were besides taxable to random checks, and Laura founds texts betwixt Jarrett and his friends discovering however to hole the car earlier his parents recovered out.

When Laura got retired of the ablution astir 15 minutes later, Jarrett was gone - but it wasn't until astir 6.45am erstwhile she realized helium wasn't astatine the house.

While his parent was successful the shower, Jarrett had grabbed the gun, changed into his pants and boots, and slipped retired of the location undetected.

Jarrett's parents inactive had his phone, and his wallet - containing his licence and currency - was recovered successful the pouch of a brace of gym shorts successful his car. 

Brooks woke up astir 8.30am and unneurotic they looked astir the municipality and checked with his friends and their parents, but determination was nary motion of him.

The Navajo County Sheriff's Office was notified astatine 12:28 pm, and Jarrett was initially treated arsenic a teenage runaway.

Only then, astir 1pm, did Brooks cheque the weapon harmless successful the den and observe the pistol was missing.

Police responded with a wide hunt of the country and soon learned of Zabadal's sighting hours earlier.

Friends joined the hunt implicit the remainder of the afternoon, on with a Arizona Department of Public Safety chopper and search dogs from Winslow Prison.

The hunt continued for the days that followed, combing a wide radius successful a grid and going doorway to door.

The Navajo County Sheriff's Office issued aggregate hunt warrants successful antithetic parts of Arizona successful its efforts to find the teen, but person travel up empty.