A young girl who went missing from California has been found living in North Carolina under a different identity six years after her suspected kidnapping, according to police.
The now 11-year-old was first reported missing from the city of Duarte in Los Angeles County, California, on July 1, 2020, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a Tuesday, March 10 press release.
The child, whose identity has not been released, was believed to have been taken by her mother after she stopped communicating with the Department of Children and Family Services, according to the sheriff’s department. Police in Washington County, North Carolina, found the girl enrolled in a local school after following a tip, the local sheriff's office said in a March 10 statement.
The child was enrolled under an alias, said the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. She was found safe and taken into protective custody.
"These are very rare occurrences to have such a positive outcome on such an old case as this, but it reminds us that through hard work, and dedication, and cooperation ... (s)tories with positive outcomes like these can happen," the office said.
