WATERLOO — A Metro East cab driver is pleading not guilty to child endangerment after being accused of having a part in causing a huge search for a 13-year-old girl in June.

Casey McPeak is accused of picking up Jate’a Frank in Mont Vernon and dropping her off at a Camp Wartburg in Waterloo.

Authorities began an extensive search for the girl, who was found safe and unharmed the next day.

Prosecutors say McPeak should not have taken Frank so far from home without an adult’s permission.