Accused kidnapper out on bail arrested for another kidnapping

A man accused of kidnapping a 12-year-old Arizona girl was out on bail after being charged with the 2020 kidnapping of two girls in South Carolina.

Timothy Schultheis, 23, was arrested Wednesday for kidnapping after the missing girl, Betty Taylor, was found in his Bluffton apartment, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Betty, who vanished on March 20 after saying she was going for a walk, was found unharmed in his apartment and taken to the hospital for evaluation. She has since reunited with her family.

At the time of his arrest, he was wearing his electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, a condition of his bail release stemming from his 2020 arrest.

In that case, Schultheis was accused of kidnapping two sisters, 10 and 12 years old, from their Aiken County residence. When police arrived at his house for question, they found the 12-year-old girl. She told police that Schultheis had sexually assaulted her.

Schultheis had already taken the younger sister back to her town and left her at a church near her house, according to police.

He was initially charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. After forensic analysis on a cell phone and other electronic devices seized from his apartment, he was charged in December 2020 with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of unlawful intent to disseminate obscene material to a person under 18 years of age.

Schultheis was released on bond a day after his December arrest, during which he was ordered to wear the electronic ankle monitor.