Missing 15-year-old Aspen Ariah Bell has been found
Police have located missing 15-year-old Aspen Ariah Bell Tuesday morning after she disappeared late Friday afternoon.
"Aspen has been located and is safe. She’s in the process of being reunited with family," according to Phoenix Police department spokesperson Sgt. Ann Justus.
Bell was last seen leaving an apartment complex near Interstate 17 and Jomax Road, according to a Phoenix Police Department Facebook post.
The teenager's mother, Kelsey Bell, said her daughter was last seen hugging a man in a blue hoodie after leaving a friend's house near Sage Apartments, according to a Facebook post. Bell took all of her clothes, purchased a throw-away cell phone and withdrew all the money in her personal bank account before disappearing around 6 p.m., the post stated.
A post by Flagstaff Police Department said it is possible she is heading to Maine with two men, and she may have been seen in the Flagstaff area.
“There were text messages found saying that she was paying two guys $1500 to come pick her up from Maine and take her back,” Bell wrote. “Please share and help get our daughter home safe!”
Bell thanked the community on Facebook for their continued support in finding her daughter.
"Without this community and everybody else sharing and doing what they did we wouldn’t of been able to find her this fast," the post stated.
According to Kelsey Bell, the ex-girlfriend of the man came forward. She said that she though Aspen might be with the man in Maine.
They later found that the residence officers were sent to investigate was the man's parent's home. The parents told police that their 19-year-old son said he was driving to Arizona to pick up a girl and bring her back a week prior.
Police were able to locate both Bell and the man in Kennebunkport, Maine about 76 miles from the parent's home.
"The police were notified in that area and at 1am last Night I received a phone call that she was in Auburn police custody in Maine!!! I’ll be getting on a plane soon."
Reach breaking news intern Brock Blasdell at Bblasdell@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @BrockBlasdell.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Aspen Ariah Bell, 15, was found in Maine early Tuesday morning.
