Former Altamont Resident Arrested on Federal Charges

Former Altamont resident Stephen Mislich has been charged with four counts of extortion and computer-related harassment.

The 23-year-old Mislich, who now lives in Bowling Green, Ohio, is alleged to have hacked into online accounts and taken suggestive pictures from the accounts, and then blackmailed the account holders into sending additional suggestive photos and videos.

Mislich was recently the subject of a missing persons investigation when he disappeared from his home, but was later found in Detroit by his parents.

Effingham city police, the Effingham County Sheriff's Department and the FBI have worked together on the investigation. Anyone who has been victimized in this case is encouraged to contact authorities.