Search for missing 14-year-old Erie girl ends at Ohio park where she was found unharmed
A 14-year-old girl reported missing from her Erie residence for two days was found unharmed a little more than 100 miles from home early Wednesday morning following a search that included a police pursuit in Pittsburgh.
A 20-year-old man who was with the girl, and whom authorities said fled from police as an attempt was made to stop his car, is now in custody in Ohio facing criminal charges in the incident.
The girl's disappearance was revealed early Tuesday night when Erie police were called to a residence in the 1400 block of East Eighth Street to take a missing persons report, according to Deputy Chief Rick Lorah. The 14-year-old's mother said her daughter, whom she had last seen on Sunday, reportedly ran away with a 20-year-old man, Lorah said.
Police received information that the 20-year-old and the girl may have fled to New Castle in Lawrence County. Erie police and contacted the New Castle Police Department, and New Castle police went to the address where the pair had possibly gone but learned the two left before police arrived at the residence, Lorah said.
Police obtained a description of the 20-year-old's vehicle, a tan Toyota Avalon, got the license plate and passed that information along to other law enforcement including the Pennsylvania State Police, according to Lorah. An Erie police bureau detective was also assigned to the case, he said.
The Pennsylvania State Police issued a Missing and Endangered Person Advisory about the 14-year-old late Tuesday night. The advisory stated the girl was last seen in Lawrence County at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and was believed to be at risk for harm, said Lt. Gary Garman, patrol section supervisor for state police Troop E in Lawrence Park Township.
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Search leads to pursuits
Shortly after midnight, according to Lorah, Erie police were advised that police in Pittsburgh were in a pursuit involving the suspect vehicle.
The Toyota Avalon then traveled into Ohio and ended up at West Branch State Park in Portage County.
Lorah said Erie police were notified Wednesday morning by an Ohio State Highway Patrol sergeant that they found the Toyota at a state park and were awaiting an aviation unit to come in to search for the girl and the man she was with. Erie police then learned that the girl and the man had come out of a wooded area and surrendered, he said.
A sergeant with the Ohio State Highway Patrol Public Affairs Unit in Brook Park, Ohio, said in an email to the Erie Times-News that troopers located the suspect's vehicle at West Branch State Park and that the suspect and the victim subsequently surrendered to a deputy with the Portage County Sheriff's Office.
Lorah said he was notified at 3:49 a.m. Wednesday that both individuals were located unharmed, and that the girl's mother was contacted.
The suspect was placed in the Portage County Jail with criminal charges pending, and the girl was being evaluated at a local hospital, the Ohio State Highway Patrol sergeant stated in her email.
It was unknown Wednesday if the man will also face charges in Erie related to the girl's disappearance. Lorah said police are conferring with the Erie County District Attorney's Office.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing in Erie and Ohio, authorities said Wednesday.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Missing Erie girl found unharmed at state park in Ohio
