A British chef accused of deserting his young family in the US has been tracked down within 24 hours by Internet sleuths.
Charles Withers allegedly walked out on his wife Ashley McGuire, the mother of his child and with another on the way, and vanished “without a trace” last year.
McGuire, who has since given birth to their second child, shared a post on Facebook on Saturday asking for help to track her husband down so she can move on with her life.
“He has one baby he hasn’t seen in over a year, and one he’s never met,” she wrote on a Facebook group called “Are We Dating The Same Guy?”
McGuire, the owner of a beauty salon in Massachusetts, said she was trying to find Withers so he could sign divorce papers. The post went viral and Internet detectives tracked him down to Texas where he is said to be working as a private chef.
Withers previously worked as executive chef for the C Salt Wine Bar & Grille in Falmouth, Massachusetts, which is now closed, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also appeared on the American culinary game show Chopped in 2022.
“He has one baby he hasn’t seen in over a year, and one he’s never met,” she wrote on a Facebook group called “Are We Dating The Same Guy?”
McGuire deleted her original post after social media users found Withers’s address and phone number in less than 16 hours. She said in a later post that she did not wish him “any type of ill will”, urging people not to “make threats, spread hate, or try to go out and locate him”.
Withers finally got in touch on Sunday night saying he was happy to talk, McGuire told the radio station JAM’N 94.5. She said he also asked her to take down details about his employer because it was a “privacy risk or security risk” for them. She said she had not been the one to post that information.
“My goal was not to disrupt his whole life, I just want to have this door closed and just move on,” she said, confirming that she last saw her husband in July or August. “I don’t want any ties, I don’t want any connections, I just want the next chapter of my life to start.”
She added: “To just walk away from all responsibility — you can’t do that, you need to be held accountable.”
On Tuesday she told TMZ that now that she has his address she can file for divorce, which she plans to do as soon as possible and will seek full custody of their children. Withers was contacted for a response but he declined to comment.
Seren Hughes is a U.K.-based journalist covering breaking news and general-interest stories for The Times of London