Agents from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Pasco County have found the 13-year-old girl, who vanished on Monday on a trip to Port St. John, safe and undamaged, the sheriff announced. Her absence sparked a search by neighbors and family members.
The girl, who was last seen by relatives on her grandfather’s driveway at approximately 3 p.m. on Monday, reportedly fled Brevard County with the assistance of a 17-year-old, according to a statement released by Sheriff Wayne Ivey after 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
The 13-year-old girl went missing on Monday while traveling to Port St. John, but she has since been located safe and unharmed by agents from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Pasco County, the sheriff said. Family members and neighbors started searching for her when she vanished.
A 17-year-old is said to have helped the girl, who was last seen by family on her grandfather’s driveway at around 3 p.m. on Monday, escape Brevard County, according to a statement published by Sheriff Wayne Ivey around 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
“Folks, this case was never thought to be an abduction as it was recognized by our team very early on in the investigation as a runaway scenario!!,” Ivey stated. “As such, we worked it accordingly, which is exactly why we never issued an “Amber Alert” or “Missing Child Alert!!” It’s also important to understand that in these cases we don’t openly broadcast that we are actively working the case and what actions we are taking, as the runaway and whomever is helping them, in this case a 17 year old, will go underground making it far more difficult to locate them!!”
According to Ivey, detectives asked the teen’s parents questions and tried to get access to her Snapchat account. Agents then spoke with the kid’s father, who revealed that he and the mother had discovered what Ivey called a “go bag” filled with extra clothing and other goods, suggesting that the daughter may have planned to flee.
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How the girl was brought to Pasco, which is located close to the state’s west coast, was not immediately known.
Before the teen was located, Andrea Dria, who revealed the child to be her niece, tweeted an appeal on social media pleading with neighbors and locals to help with the search. She stated, “People are calling to come out and help with the search.”
Ivey thanked locals in his statement, saying that some had searched the densely forested area after dusk on Monday and that others had driven through the area in a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Ivey did not say who it was. Additionally, he thanked the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office for their unidentified support. It was unknown if the case resulted in any arrests or if the investigation is still ongoing.
“Thankfully, in this case it was an isolated family incident that our team was able to bring to a close by finding the child and safely returning her to her parents,” Ivey stated.
