A Florida teen is being credited with putting a child predator behind bars.In January, Zachary Spiegel, 38, started talking to who he believed was a 14-year-old girl named "Shayla" online. But in reality, "Shayla" was a fictional persona created by a 16-year-old boy who was trying to find child predators in the area."Here you have a 16-year-old boy wanting to take the matter into his own hands and find these child predators in his area, and he found one," Callahan Walsh, a child advocate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said.Court documents show Spiegel’s messages with Shayla, trying to persuade her to meet him for sex in his car, graphic conversations and images.Authorities said the two never met up due to Spiegel being pulled over by police during a traffic stop that day, but the boy went to police who then took over as Shayla. Then on Jan. 20, authorities arrested Spiegel at his home in Jensen Beach, Florida, after finding him in possession of the cellphone he had used to communicate with Shayla.Spiegel was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of trying to entice a teenage girl for sex online. While Walsh said he takes his hat off to that 16-year-old boy for wanting to catch Spiegel, he cautions other people from doing the same thing because the predators they encounter could be dangerous.He encourages people to report exploitation if they see it happening, but to leave the hunting and investigating up to law enforcement.

NORWOOD, Ohio —

Police in Norwood have issued a critical missing alert for a teenage boy.

Officers are looking for 17-year-old Joseph Flores.

Flores was last seen on Sunday leaving his workplace at Rookwood Exchange, after experiencing what police are calling a "mental health episode."

Anyone with information on where Flores could be is asked to get in touch with their local police department or call the Hamilton County Communications Center at 513-458-4521.

GLENWOOD, Iowa —

An Iowa teenager is turning to surgery, hoping an expensive procedure will give her a new smile.

Since she was a little girl, Liberty Williams’ mouth curved a bit different than those around her. Now after years of bullying, she said she doesn't feel free to smile wide.

"Do I have a crooked smile?"

At 4 years old, Liberty asked her mom that question.

Dusty Williams said her daughter's preschool teacher had brought it up to her.

It broke her heart, so they tried to find a fix.

"There was nothing, we had no diagnosis at all,” Dusty Williams said.

So for 15 years, Liberty lived with one side of her mouth being different. And bullies have always noticed.

"It was hard because I know I’m different from other people and people would just see me differently than I do, so I just want to be seen as normal and have a normal mouth but it’s hard when people keep saying things,” Liberty said.

This past year the bullying took a big turn.

Liberty got an anonymous text message calling her names and saying, "You have no point in life and nobody wants you here. I don’t know how you get friends with that messed up mouth."

"It didn’t have a phone number or anything, I didn’t know what to do. I went straight to my mom,” Liberty said.

"She was just sobbing in a ball on her bed, just sobbing and I was angry,” Dusty Williams said.

After calls to the police, the school, the phone provider and the county attorney with no answers, the Williams family felt at a loss.

But, that reignited their search for a doctor who could help.

A surgeon in Omaha, Nebraska, tried, but once Liberty was under anesthesia, Williams said the doctor came out with bad news.

"This surgery was unsuccessful. We went in, we cut her open we dug around and there’s actually no nerves or muscles in the entire side of her face,” Dusty Williams said.

He was able to place gold in her eye, which allowed her to finally close her eyes completely.

That doctor referred them all the way to a surgeon in Beverly Hills. They believe he can do a facial reanimation.

"They can’t fix anything internally but on the outside, they can make her smile a little more symmetrical and change some of the things about her that she's uncomfortable with,” Dusty Williams said.

A GoFundMe will pay for the expensive surgery.

A friend is offering photoshoots, with the proceeds going to the Williams family.

Money is also being raised by the sale of anti-bullying T-shirts in Liberty’s name.

“That’s what’s more important is that they stop treating her that way to me than fixing who she is, like that’s who she is,” Dusty Williams said.

In the end, it’s Liberty's choice.

"I think if I got the surgery I’d be happier with my smile but I feel like other people are winning if I do. So, I don’t know what to do,” Liberty said.

GEAUGA COUNTY, Ohio — Danny Tiller is a typical 13-year-old. The Ohio boy plays football and wrestles for the 8th-grade team at Berkshire Local Schools. But earlier this month, Tiller did something not so typical for a teenager—he saved a life.

“It was a fight-or-flight kind of thing,” said Tiller.

The Tiller family vacationed in Alabama over Labor Day weekend and went swimming at the Little River Canyon National Preserve.

“It’s a pretty wide river, and the part where you jump off the rocks, it turns into a waterfall and it gets pretty deep,” he said.

Danny’s mom, Faith, watched as he and his family members jumped into the water and as a man jumped in shortly after them.

Danny and his family members successfully navigated the current and swam back to land, but Faith says she was confused to see Danny jump back into the river.

“I saw Danny jump back in and I was like, ‘Why is he jumping back in?’” she said.

But Danny jumped back in because he saw the man who had been on the cliff edge with him struggling against the river’s current.

“I saw him flail his arms and he asked for help, and I jumped in feet first,” Danny said. “I grabbed him under the shoulder and under his arm.”

It was a scary sight for his mom and dad to watch as they ran to help.

“I was watching from above and by the time Danny got to him, he was completely under the water,” said Faith.

Danny eventually got the unconscious man to the edge of the river, where his brother and cousins helped get him up.

“I noticed he wasn’t breathing, so I just started doing chest compressions on him,” he said.

While the 13-year-old wasn’t formally trained, he said he knew some general training.

“I heard you’re supposed to do it to the ‘Stayin' Alive’ song,” he said. “My mother is a nurse and she kind of says things and I just kind of picked it up from other places.”

His efforts were successful, and the man regained consciousness.

“By the time I got there, he was just starting to breathe,” said Faith.

Danny said he hasn’t talked to the man since the event, but said he just wanted to help.

“I saw him struggling and there was no one around me, so he probably wouldn’t have made it if I wasn’t there. It was a fight-or-flight kind of thing,” he said.

He proved to be a heroic and humble 13-year-old.

“I am just very proud of him,” said Faith. “I know that he has greatness in his future.”

This story was originally published by Jessi Schultz at WEWS.

OMAHA, Neb. —

It’s news every parent dreads. Doctors diagnosed 15-year-old Devin Meier with cancer this summer. As childhood cancer awareness month begins, Meier's parents encourage everyone to take preventative measures, like getting an annual check-up.

“It was a shock to find out that it was cancerous, obviously,” said Megan Meier, Devin’s mom.

Meier was getting ready to kick off his freshman year at Elkhorn South High School, located about 20 minutes outside of Omaha, when his pediatrician found a lump in his throat. It was thyroid cancer.

“He had no symptoms at all with this and just was literally going in just so he could play football for the school,” said Megan Meier, who explained that the cancer may have gone undetected if not for a physical Devin had to get before football season. “We wouldn’t have known anything otherwise.”

Playing football is what Devin lives for. Two weeks after surgery, he has been cleared to get back on the field.

“He does the right thing, he’s the first one in, first one out of the weight room, picking up after kids, and he leads by example,” said freshman coach Jeff Hunter.

Devin’s parents are optimistic their football fanatic will tackle cancer as easily as he does the opposing team.

“He’s generally a positive, tough kid and he seems like he’s staying positive and tough and I’m sure he’ll beat this as well,” said Devin’s dad, Ken Meier.

The Meiers’ message: get regular checkups to catch cancer before it enters the red zone.

Doctors will determine if Devin’s cancer has spread in about a month.

Watch the video above for more on this story

Kieran Moïse's afro was a splendid 19 inches, a huge part of his personality. But after six years of growth, the 17-year-old Alabamian knew that he and his hair would soon be parted: He was bound for the U.S. Air Force Academy.So in memory of a friend who died from cancer, he cut it off and donated it to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, which provides human hair replacements to children and teenagers facing medically related hair loss due to cancer treatments, alopecia and burns."I knew I didn't want it to just get cut off and thrown on the floor, so I wanted to give back," he said. "I knew I wanted to send a message." He did — and many responded. Moïse printed out flyers and spread the word on social media for an event held by the nonprofit at a brewery in Huntsville, Alabama. There, family, friends and even some of his elementary and middle school teachers took turns cutting his hair in braids. His story was widely shared online. "It's good to see good news and see ... that people are still doing good things, because all it does is inspire others," he said. "That's really what I want to come out of this: I want other people to (say), 'Hey, if he's doing this, so can I.'"Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which had helped his late classmate, Josh Quist. He died when they were in middle school. "That's when I started hating cancer," Moïse said. Initially, Moïse hoped he could raise $19,000, or $1,000 per inch of hair. "Kieran's Curls for Cancer" has exceeded expectations and has already raised nearly $35,000 for St. Jude.Small gestures of kindness, Moïse said, can spread. "When you smile, that usually makes someone else smile, and then that one smile can brighten someone else's day," he said."I know I've had rough days where someone just does something nice for me or I see them do something nice to someone else, and I remember that the whole day."