While there's nothing hysterical about the reporting of this news, you can be sure people quick to jump to conclusions will blame World of Warcraft for being a dangerous environment after they read it -- as if a person couldn't get accosted under any other circumstances. Kidnapping children in a van is SO 1996.

David Faboo, a 38-year-old ex-convict, was arrested in February 2008 after allegedly abducting a 16-year-old girl. According to FBI paperwork, the two met while playing World of Warcraft. The teenage girl was described as "mentally challenged."

From the GamePolitics article:

Faboo told a roommate that he intended to marry the victim in both real-life and in WoW. Faboo subsequently purchased a teddy bear, cell phone, chocolates and a promise ring for the girl. When stopped by police, these items were recovered, along with rope, several knives, condoms and sex toys. Faboo had also constructed a makeshift bed out of plywood in the back of his Dodge pickup truck.

Damn, I've never had a guy make a bed for me IN HIS TRUCK. Classy! Faboo was caught by the Oregon State Police about five hours after picking up the girl from her California home. FBI used his MySpace page (unfortunately no longer there) and email records from Yahoo! and MSN along with his WoW records.

So what's the lesson to take away from all this? It seems that if you choose to play an online game where you can role-play a troll from an ancient time, you could POSSIBLY meet someone a little off their rocker. I know, it's shocking, but it's possible. Best to be aware of such stupefying mysteries.

[Thanks, Joe]