Drake Bell's family was concerned for his safety, according to 911 call
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Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Drake Bell
A newly released 911 phone call appears to provide insight into Drake Bell's frame of mind after the actor was declared "missing and endangered" in Florida and was found safe less than 24 hours later.
In the audio recording, which was first shared by TMZ on Friday, an Orlando Police Department officer who identifies himself as Steve can be heard seemingly relaying information about the Drake & Josh alum's disappearance.
"I have a possible attempted suicide," he says. "Basically, there is a celebrity who had a falling out with this wife ... and we got involved because the family — he's been texting the family in California saying that he's going to get drunk and hang himself, and he's in a hotel somewhere in Orlando."
The officer noted that they were able to track down Bell's whereabouts because "we finally got permission to ping the phone, and that's what the ping came back to."
EW has reached out to the representatives for the Orlando Police Department and Bell, but did not immediately hear back.
On Thursday, the Daytona Beach Police Department confirmed that they had been in contact with Bell, full name Jared Drake Bell, and that he was safe after they previously reported him "missing and endangered" on Wednesday evening. Prior to locating him, the former Nickelodeon star had been last seen around the Mainland High School area around 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
The actor later poked fun at his disappearance on social media, tweeting, "You leave your phone in the car and don't answer for the night and this?"
Bell is best known for starring opposite Josh Peck, Miranda Cosgrove, and Jerry Trainor in the sitcom Drake & Josh, which aired on Nickelodeon from 2004 to 2007. He also appeared on several other Nick programs, including The Amanda Show and All That and was the voice of Timmy Turner in the The Fairly OddParents series and several films.
In 2021, Bell was sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty to charges of child endangerment and disseminating harmful material to minors and later addressed the matter in an Instagram post.
"I want to make clear that there were no sexual images, nothing physical between me and this individual. I was not charged with anything physical. I was not charged with disseminating of photographs or images or anything like that," Bell wrote. "This is strictly over text messages. And when I was presented with a plea deal, because of the messages, I felt that it was the best way to get this over quickly, and for everyone involved to be able to move on, and for me to get back to doing what I love, and that's making music for you."
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
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