Florida Girl, 12, Took Dad's Car and Drove 400 Miles with a Friend to Possibly See Person They Met Online
The girls, age 12 and 14, reportedly turned themselves in to local authorities after seeing their pictures in a missing persons report on television at a gas station
Two girls have been found safe in Alabama after traveling nearly 400 miles from their hometown in Florida to possibly meet up with an individual they met online.
The Union County Sheriff's Office (UCSO) in Florida issued a missing child alert last Thursday after the Lake Butler girls, ages 12 and 14, disappeared from their hometown.
The alert was canceled about three hours later after the girls were found safe in Bayou La Batre, Ala., the UCSO said.
The girls turned themselves in to local authorities a short time later after seeing themselves in a missing persons report on a gas station television, according to NBC News.
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UCSO Chief Deputy Capt. Lyn Williams said the girls had left to meet someone they met online, NBC News and CBS affiliate WGFL reported.
Williams cited "suspicious circumstances" that raised "red flags" about the person the girls met online, per the reports.
Williams told FOX affiliate WOFL that the person on the other end of the girls' exchange is believed to be a teenage boy, though an investigation into the individual is ongoing.
"Whether or not they were trying to lure them out there... either way they were going out there to meet this person," Williams said, per WGFL.
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The girls were traveling in a 2016 black Ford Taurus belonging to the 12-year-old's father, the UCSO said.
Both girls have since returned home, according to WOFL. Williams said the pair is "doing great" following the ordeal.
The investigation into the individual who was in contact with the girls has been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to NBC News and WGFL.
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