Search under way for sex offender who left with 20-year-old mentally challenged woman

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Police are looking for a Megan’s Law sex offender who left the city with a 20-year-old mentally challenged woman.

Friends and family of the woman, Gabriella Trayer, of Edinburg, Pa., believe she was taken to Clarksville, Tenn., on Feb. 9 by Robert Bryan Hebb, 44, who was convicted in 1998 of attempted aggravated sexual battery.

Friends say they believe Hebb took her to Clarksville because of ties he had there.

Joe Willis, Trayer’s father, said they tracked Hebb to an old girlfriend’s home in Clarksville Feb. 10 through one of their acquaintances who knows him.

Willis said that when the acquaintance called a number Hebb had left, he answered the phone and reported that he and Trayer “had gotten there OK.”

The old girlfriend lent Hebb $20, Willis said. The pair did not stay with her.

Now, family and friends say they’re worried for Trayer’s safety. The Pennsylvania State Police have a warrant for Hebb’s arrest because he did not notify them of an address change — required for sex offenders on the Megan’s Law list.

Trayer’s mother, Rita Willis, acknowledged her daughter is legally an adult and can choose to stay with Hebb. But if he is arrested, she believes, her daughter will be persuaded to come back.

The Willises said their daughter has the mental development of an 8- to 12-year-old.

For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com