UPDATE (12:45 P.M. 7/26): The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office held a news conference Thursday morning and said they have charged 52-year-old Richard W. Tester with aggravated kidnapping.
Kristen Quon, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said Tester and the 17-year-old girl had met in person before, but are not releasing how they knew each other at this time.
Quon said the girl had left with Tester willingly, but Tester was charged because she is a minor and he took her out of the state. He could be federally charged since he took her across state lines.
The girl is physically fine, Quon said, and will talk to investigators and then go back to her family. She was reported missing on Tuesday and the sheriff's office got the case on Wednesday, Quon said.
She also said they are not sure if Tester had a criminal record in other places at this time.
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BRISTOL, Tenn. — UPDATE (WCYB): Authorities have found the 17-year-old girl who an Amber Alert was issued for in Bristol, Tennessee, and the suspect is in custody, according to authorities.
The suspect, 52-year-old Richard Tester, and the juvenile have been taken to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office will have a news conference at 11 a.m.
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Police throughout the region are continuing the search for a 17-year-old Sullivan County girl believed to be in "extreme danger."
The girl is believed to have been abducted by 52-year-old Richard Tester. Authorities believe she left her house on Tuesday. She is 5-foot-9 and has black hair and brown eyes and weighs 130 pounds.
Tester is now wanted for aggravated kidnapping. He is 5-foot-9 and weighs 166 pounds. He also wears glasses.
They were last seen in a 2004 blue Chevy Trailblazer with a license plate of B7101V. It is believed they are traveling north on Interstate 81.
Authorities said the pair checked into a motel in Marion but have since left.
Anyone with information is asked to call The FBI's Knoxville field office at 865-544-0751 or the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office at 423-279-7331.