GLENWOOD -- A man was arrested after he allegedly traveled from Ohio to central Minnesota to meet a boy he met online.

The Pope County Sheriff's Office and the Minnewaska Area School District both released statements about the incident Monday.

The sheriff's office says they got a call from the school on Friday of an unknown man at the middle school. Law enforcement arrested the man at a local hotel in Pope County. He has been identified as 29-year-old Christian Mackson of Dayton, Ohio. The investigation revealed that he traveled from Dayton to Glenwood for the sole purpose of seeking out a student he met online.

The Minnewaska School District says they were informed by a middle school parent about two weeks ago about an inappropriate conversation via text, zoom, and video games involving the man and a student. On Friday, the man dropped off a phone at the middle school with a note saying he had 'found' his phone. The office staff took action to make sure the student in question was safe in his classroom and then called law enforcement and the parent.

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Mackson appeared in Pope County Court Monday on felony charges.

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