Missing Teen Girl Found Alive After Nearly 3 Weeks—Over 600 Miles From Home
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A 17-year-old girl from a Detroit suburb who had been missing since Easter has been found in North Carolina and reunited with her mother, according to U.S. Marshals in a press release on Thursday.
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service for additional information via email on Saturday. Newsweek has also reached out to the teen's mother, Christina Harcus, via Facebook Messenger for comment on Saturday.
The Context
On April 20 at 1:30 a.m., the teen was reported missing from Roseville, Michigan, after running away.
A public information flyer described her as a "missing endangered child with thoughts of suicide." Newsweek reached out to the Roseville Police Sheriff via email on Saturday.
The teenager was found after missing for 17 days.
In 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Crime Information Center recorded over 533,000 missing youths in the United States.
What To Know
On May 7, Harcus posted on Facebook that her daughter "has been found." She was reunited with her child the following day in North Carolina, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
The teen was found in North Carolina after law enforcement surrounded a motel where she was staying with a 26-year-old man. He has been taken into custody.
Over the course of the search, which involved local police and U.S. Marshals, several sightings of the teen were reported—including a tip called in late April that she was spotted at a trailer park in Clinton Township, according to Facebook posts on her mother's page.
A cash reward of up to $2,500 was offered for information leading to her whereabouts.
Roseville Police contacted the U.S. Marshals Service for support on May 5.
Investigators believe the man of interest traveled to Michigan, picked up the girl on May 4, and brought her to North Carolina, the U.S. Marshals press release states.
"We identified a person of interest that we believe drove up from North Carolina, took her back down to North Carolina where we were able to locate him at a long, extended-stay motel," Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Watson told Fox 2 Detroit.
Newsweek has reached out to the Raleigh Police Department for comment via email on Saturday.
U.S. Marshals patrol outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on June 8, 2022.
U.S. Marshals patrol outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on June 8, 2022.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin,
What People Are Saying
Owen Cypher, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a Thursday statement: "The U.S. Marshals Service holds the mission of locating and recovering critically missing children as the highest priority. It is our honor to protect our most vulnerable victims, and we will continue to support our state and local partners with this endeavor."
Roseville Police Detective Lieutenant Andrew Beemer said in a statement: "The Roseville Police Department is committed to investigating all cases of missing and runaway children who, regardless of age, face significant risks including homelessness."
Glenn M. McNeill, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina said in a Thursday statement: "The safe recovery of this missing child reflects the power of strong partnerships. I commend the dedicated personnel from the United States Marshals Service and the Raleigh Police Department whose collaboration, focus, and swift action brought this case to a successful close. Their work is a clear example of what can be accomplished when agencies operate as one team, committed to protecting our most vulnerable."
What Happens Next?
The investigation into the person of interest is ongoing.
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